


Everyone has a Weakness

by FandomsShipsandFeelsOhMY



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2017-12-15 16:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomsShipsandFeelsOhMY/pseuds/FandomsShipsandFeelsOhMY
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Achievement Hunter gang get's a mysterious letter in the mail, attached to just as mysterious game, they decide to throw caution to the wind and ignore the warning in the letter. But when they get sucked into the game, and people start getting hurt, they learn that maybe the letter wasn't just some prank. Maybe this demon really is out to get them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Letter

 

Dear men of Achievement Hunters,

I have a gift for you. The game that is enclosed in this envelop is unlike any of its time and any that will come after it. The immersion you feel is a hundred percent real and the experience will truly be once in a life time. You see, there’s a demon that lives in this game. She’s very adept at reading people’s weaknesses and deepest darkest secrets, and exploits them in the worst possible way imaginable. This is an unbeatable game gentleman, in every sense of the word. I warn you know to consider the high levels of danger before even looking at the disc. Honestly, I would not wish this fate on even my worst enemy. You’re best interest is to just throw this away and never talk about it again.

But if I know the human race, and I’m for certain I do, you will not heed my warning. You will carelessly load this game and joke and play. So there’s nothing much I can do but wish you luck.

Have fun boys.


	2. Let's Play

Geoff looked up after finishing reading the letter to look around at his silent co-workers.

“That was…” Jack starts, running a hand through his hair.

“Creepy as dicks dude!” Geoff finishes for him, looking back down at the letter in his hand before dropping it on the desk. “What the hell even is that shit?”

“Who sent it?” Ray asks, getting up from his seat and picking up the letter and manila envelope it came in. The letter wasn’t signed and the envelope didn’t have a return address on it. “That’s weird, do you think it’s from one of our fans?” Geoff snorts and shakes his head.

“If so we have some weird ass fans.” They all laugh and Michael get’s out of his seat to take the letter from Ray.

“So are we going to play it?” He asks, turning the letter over in his hands.

“God no!” Geoff’s eyes widen in horror.

“I agree with Geoff,” Ryan pipes up from his relaxed position on the couch. “That was kind of weird. What if there’s really something on it?” Michael sends him a look and rolls his eyes.

“Like what? A demon?” He pulls a face and makes ghost noises over at Ryan. With a smirk he wiggles the letter and his hands in the man’s face while continuing to make the noises. Ryan rolls his eyes at the younger boy’s antics and swats Michael’s hands away.

“No you idiot. I mean what if there’s a virus or something on it? We’ve never exactly gotten something like this from a fan before. What if it’s a troll trying to fuck with our computers?” Michael pulls a look of contemplation before shrugging.

“I doubt it, I mean, even if there is a virus on here we have pretty kick ass fire walls up that will catch it right away.” Ryan still doesn’t seem convinced.

“I don’t know. There’s just something off about this whole thing.”

“Oh come on, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Demons eating our souls? That seems like a pretty shitty day to me!” Geoff buts in, shaking his head and looking wearily at the envelope still in Ray’s hands.

“Come on Geoff,” Ray laughs. “It’s just a game.”

“Like hell it is! You heard what that letter said, this might be some serious crap!”

“Oh please, they’re just trying to-”

“What’s up lads!” Gavin says loudly, his grand entrance cutting Michael off. They all turn to stare at him and he frowns in confusion at the attention.

“What? What has you lot so riled up?” He asks, stretching his arms over his head and bending backwards a bit.

“We got some letter and game in the mail.” Michael hands the letter over to Gavin who quickly skims it, smile widening as he reads.

“This is top!” Gavin cheers looking up at the others. “Where’re doing this right?”

“Well I want to, but Geoff’s being a big sissy about it.”

“Demons, Michael, demons.” Gavin laughs at his father figure and strides over to him.

“Come on Geoff! This sounds amazing! This could even be a Let’s Play! Don’t you think our fans would love us actually “in” a video game?”

“Normally I would say yes, but the damn things possessed or whatever!” Gavin shakes his head and moves to stand in the middle of the room so he can address everyone at once.

“Alright boys, let’s do this the old fashion way. I propose a bet!” The older men groaned while the younger exchanged excited smiles. “We’re going to see who’s the pussy in our group, we all play the game and who ever fear quits first is the loser. The loser has to,” Gavin strokes his stubble as he thinks. His green eyes light up as an idea pops into his head and he smiles wickedly. “Loser has to sign up for one of the most ridiculous dating sites they can find, dress in the skimpiest dress the winners can find that will fit you, and post it as your profile picture on said dating site.” Gavin smiles proudly as his friends laugh and shake their heads at the ridiculousness of the bet.

“No way Gav, I’m not in on this.”

“Nope, being in this room automatically means you’re part of the bet. If you refuse out right that means you automatically lose Geoff.” Geoff groans and shakes his head.

“Gavin you’re a prick, you know that.” Gavin laughs and smiles cheekily at him.

“So are we doing this?” Ray asks, pulling the disks out of the envelope and looking at their plane cover. They all look around at each other, and when no one objects, Gavin lets out a loud whoop and grabs one of the disks out of Ray’s hands.

“Let’s get going shall we.” Michael grabs on next and goes over to his computer to sit down and put the disk in. Jack was next, shrugging in indifference at Ray as he takes the disk and wanders back over to his desk. Then was Ryan, who mutters a “this isn’t a good idea” before going over to his spot on the couch. Finally Geoff takes a disk. He stares at it uneasily then looks at Ray who just smirks, shrugs, and goes over to his desk to install the disk.

“God Gavin, if anything happens I blame you” Geoff whines and Gavin just laughs and pushes in the disk.

“Stop whining you donut, it’s only-” he pauses and frowns. He swears he hears a distinct tapping sound, but as he looks around he can’t identify the source of the sound.

“You ok Gavin?” Michael asks. He was paused in the motion of putting on his head phones when he noticed Gavin’s strange look.

“Uh yeah,” He smiles over at Michael and shrugs. “Thought I heard something, must have just been my imagination.” Everyone’s instillation finishes at the same time and beeps out in unions. The main menu pops up on their screens. It was a plain, black screen with messy white lettering reading “Everyone has a weakness,” and right under that their only option to choose from:

Play.

They all looked at each other, each face expressing a different emotion. Taking a deep breath and making eye contact at Ray, Gavin hears the Puerto Rican give the go signal.

“LLLLLLet’s Play!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it be said I've never really done anything where I have a bunch of important characters at once, so if you feel I'm neglecting one of the guys, please let me know so i can have them say more things.


	3. Where are we?

The first thing Gavin noticed was the darkness. It was uncanny. As his green eyes open and his pupils shrink substantially in response to the lack of light, he can’t help but note how still the blackness around him was. Slowly and hesitantly he sits up, eyes trying desperately to adjust to his surroundings. He swallows hard, duly noting his dry throat, and pats the ground around him in search for anything. His hand grasps something cylinder, and upon further inspection, finds it’s a torch. Gavin clicks it on and points it in front of him. The small beam of light pierces the darkness around him and he’s able to make out a body in front of him. Torch in hand, Gavin slowly crawls over to the form. The light illuminates the body and he’s able to make out the scraggily brown beard of Geoff.

“Geoff?” Gavin whispers, unsure why, but not wanting to tempt whatever lurks in that unearthly darkness by making loud sounds. “Geoff, wake up.” He shakes the man until he hears a quiet groan and sees Geoff start to shift. After a moment, confused blue eyes blink up at him.

“Gavin? What the hell’s going on?” He asks, slowly sitting up next to the Brit. Geoff looks around, taking in the darkness, and frowns. “Where are we?” Gavin licks his lower lip and flashes the torch a head of Geoff.

“I’m…I’m not entirely sure.” He answers, turning to look back at the older man.

“Where’d you get the flash light?” Gavin looks down at the mentioned object and shrugs.

“It was next to me when I woke up. Maybe you have one too?” He shines the light around Geoff. Sure enough, right next to him was a plastic red torch, similar to the one Gavin was holding. Geoff quickly grabs it and clicks it on, revealing a disgruntled face directly behind Gavin’s shoulder.

“Fuck!” Geoff yelled, dropping his light source and scampering back some. Gavin’s eyes widen in surprise and fear. He whips around to flash his light behind him, blinding the unannounced member of the group.

“Damn it Gav! Don’t shine it in my fucking eyes!” Snaps a familiar voice as he draws up a hand to shield his eyes.

“Sorry Michael!” Gavin gasps and averts the light out of the Jersey boy’s eyes. “Geoff scared the knobs out of me! I thought there was something horrible behind me!” By this time Geoff had regained his torch and moved closer to sit with the duo.

“Well I turned on the stupid flash light and Michael just appeared leering over your damn shoulder!” Geoff defends.

“Whatever, where’s the others?” Michael questions, clicking on a torch of his own. Just then they heard two groans off to their right. “Hello?” Was called out as they shone their lights in the direction, revealing Ryan and Ray.

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Ray mumbled, winching at the light being shone at him.

“Where are we?” Ryan asks, substantially more alert than Ray.

“We don’t know yet. There should be flash lights next to you. Grab them then come sit next to us.” Geoff says and the two quickly follow his instructions.

“Where’s Jack?” Gavin flashes his light in a big circle, but there’s still no sign of the red head.

“Jack!” Michael calls out. Gavin’s body stiffens and cold dread washes over him as Michael yells out into the blackness around them.

“Shhh!” he reprimands, hitting Michaels arm and scowling at him. “Not so loud.”

“Why?” He furrows his brows in an irritated manner. “Who the fuck’s going to hear me?” Gavin didn’t know what was making him so nervous about Michael’s loudness. Where ever they were, it was clear by the silence that they were alone. However, something still compelled him to worry his lower lip and look around at the surrounding darkness.

“No one, it’s just…can you not be so loud. Please?” Michael rolls his eyes but lowers his voice a little.

“Jack? Where are you?” The rest had joined in, giving timid shouts of his name and motioning their light sources around them.

“Jack? Come on Jack, where the hell are you?” Gavin was crawling slowly away from the group and patting the area outside of the reach of the torch. “Bollocks Jack, did they knock you out or something?” His hand grasped something that was unmistakably a shoe. “Found you.” He smiles, but before he could examine the body attached to said shoe Michael’s voice carried over from where their little group was huddled.

“Gavin, get back over here.  We’ve found him.” Gavin swallows hard and his hand instinctively squeezes the object in his hand. If this wasn’t Jack, then who was it? With trembling hands, he slowly brings the light to shine on the object he was holding. Slowly the black rubber rim came into view, quickly followed by gray and green. Odd, these shoes looked….

“Gavin!” The Brit jumped and dropped his torch, letting go of the shoe in his momentary fright from Michael’s shout. He snatches back up the torch and shines it in front of him, but there was nothing there. He swiped the light in a wide semi circle, but every sign of the shoe, and the person in it, had vanished. “Gavin, get the fuck over here!”

“C-coming” Gavin calls back in a must quieter voice. With one last swipe of the area he quickly crawls back over to his friends and sits in a vacant space next to Michael.

“What took you so long?” Michael asks.

“Just thought I saw something, but it was probably just a squirrel. He easily dismisses. “so, anyone know the hell is going on here?” Ever one wore a similar face of confusion.

“I…” Ryan speaks up, his voice slow and confused. “I think we’re in the game.” There was a long pause after that declaration, no one daring to say a word. Finally, excluding Ryan, they all burst into laughter.

“Yeah Ryan, we were totally transported into some game!”

“I’m serious!” Ryan frowns and shakes his head at his friends. “Think about the situation we’re in, what was the last thing you remember doing?” The laughter died at this point, every one racking their memories for the reason why they were currently lost in some forest.

“Last thing I remember was Ray shouting let’s play…” Jack says.

“And then we all pressed play” Ray finishes, his face scrunched up as he tries to connect the missing dots.

“See! How did we get from then to now? There’s not a chance in hell we all just happen to gain amnesia and end up in some random forest. Where we are, and every other explanation for why we’re here, are invalid. If it’s not for the fact that it would be hard to take six grown men anywhere, it’s that we work in an office full of people! I’m sure someone would notice something was off.” They look at each other as Ryan’s words sink in. It all made sense. No matter how illogical it sounded, there was no other reasonable explanation how six grown men went from in front of their computer screen about to play a game, to knocked out in the middle of a forest.

“Maybe it’s some sort of new tech?” Ray shrugs. “Like, we’re really back at the office, and this is just some virtual simulator?”

“That can’t be it.” Geoff shakes his head. “WE aren’t behind on the latest and greatest but none of our equipment is capable of something like this. I don’t think any new tech advancements are capable of pulling off something this fantastic. It seems so real.” They all fall into silence, each processing this information.

“So…are we saying…” Jack starts slowly.

“That we’re actually in this game?” Ray finishes for him. “Yeah, I truthfully think we are.”

“Are you kidding me?” Michael gives a short laugh. “ I mean, that’s impossible. How the fuck did we get in? Riddle me that.”

“I don’t know, but we’re-”

“The demon.” Geoff cuts Ryan off, eyes wide with realization and face deathly pale with fear.

“Not this again!”

“I’m serious! The note warned us about this game! It said it had some evil spirit in it! Now look where we are! In the middle of fucking nowhere with nothing but a flash light to our advantage!”

“Geoff, there’s no demon. That note was just a prank.”

“Prank? Michael, look where we _are_ , this seems pretty real to me!” Michael let’s out an irritated huff and rolls his eyes.

“Fine, say we are in  the game. What’s so bad about that? It’s a video game, right?” He appeals to them. They all nod and he continues with a confident stride in his voice. “So that means we can’t really get hurt. We’re _fine._ It’s a game. Something for our entertainment, none of it’s actually real. All the monster and the big bag things we might see are just a computer that’s meant to be beat.”

“Are they though?” Gavin asks, bringing his gaze to Michael then looking out far past their group. “How do we know where not in danger? That something really can kill us?”

“Gavin,” Michael breaths out in exasperation. “You don’t honestly think any of this is real, do you? It’s a _game._ ”

“I…” he blinks and looks over at his friend. “You’re right,” Gavin laughs. “I’m being ridiculous!” Gavin jumps up and stares around at the rest. “If we’re really play the game, then let’s go exploring! We obviously can’t win if we sit here all day!”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Michael cheers, jumping up next to Gavin. “Let’s do this!”

“I’m in,” Ray says, jumping up as well. “Let’s kick this games ass!” The three older men look at one another.

“What do you guys think?” Ryan asks, looking between the two. “I’m still really unsure about all this.”

“Well…” Jack scratches his beard and purses his lips. “It’s just a game, and even if it wasn’t, we’re open targets if we just sit here.”

“But we don’t know what’s out there.” Geoff stresses, roughly running his hands through his hair. “I don’t know…” Jack gets up from his spot and looks out at the darkness ahead of him.

“Honestly, I don’t like this idea very much either. However, there’s strength in numbers, so let’s go. We’re video game pros, I mean, we do this for a living right?” The two that still remain seating give him reluctant and weary smiles and nods. “So we have an advantage here. I’m not saying there’s no cause for worry, but as of right now, there’s no point in stressing over something we know nothing about. Let’s go explore, see what we have to deal with, and get home, ‘cause I have a crap load of work to do and would like to get home at a decent time tonight.” Jack speech seemed to quall their worry because Geoff and Ryan were smiling, both looking more relaxed than they had before.

“Plus,” Gavin pipes in with a goofy smile and sling an around around Jack’s shoulders. “If you guys wimp out on us, then you lose the bet, and we all know what that means.” Geoff lets out a laugh and stands up.

“Shut up Gavin.” He laughs as he playfully pushes his friend. “I’m sure as hell not losing to you.”Gavin laughs as well and shakes his head.

“We’ll see about that!”

Gavin couldn’t get rid of the feeling of being watched.


	4. A race without a winner

“You know, this place isn’t so scary once you get used to it.” Geoff says as they wander through the woods. They had been wandering for what felt like ages and had yet to see a single thing that could indicate a supernatural presence. “All it is, is trees and darkness. And as long as your good with both it’s honestly not that bad.”

“I suppose,” Gavin frowns. The British boy was lazily flashing his light on and off as he drags his feet across the earth in a bored manner. “But I wish something would happen. This is boring! All we’re doing is walking around! I’m beginning to think there really isn’t anything spectacular about this game after all.” Geoff hits Gavin on the back of his head, earning him an annoyed look.

“Be fucking grateful! I’d rather wander around here with nothing to do for the whole game than have some demon attacking our dicks!” Gavin frowns and flashes the light on and off in Geoff’s face, causing Geoff to hit his hand so the light was turned back towards the ground.

“I’m just saying, I wish there was at least a little more excitement.”

“I agree,” Michael groans as he walks right up next to Gavin’s side. “This is lame as fuck. Why isn’t anything happening?”

“How about we create our own fun?” Ray suggests. He was currently walking in front of the trio next to Ryan and Jack. When he spoke to the two other members of the lads he was turned around, walking backwards as to face them.

“What do you have in mind?” Gavin asks with a shrug.

“A race?”

“As in a foot race? I guess, where to?” Michael says. Ray turns back around to look ahead of them for a good stopping point but doesn’t find one that seems acceptable to him.

“How about we just run until we wear out? Last one running wins?” Michael and Gavin exchange looks.

“Sure, seems pretty top.”

“It’s better than just walking around. Let’s do this! I’m going to kick both of your asses!” Michael grins, Gavin and Ray both meeting him with challenging grins of their own.

“Let’s line up! You Gents going to join us?” Ray asks as the three of them line up in the front of their group, who had by this point stopped walking to let the younger members prepare for their race.

“Nah, I’m good.” Jack says with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, you guys go ahead and tire yourselves out.” Ryan laughs.

“I’m too old to do shit like this, I’m a no go for this as well.” Ray shrugs and turns to face forward.

“One of you count down then!”

“3…2…1” Ryan starts to count down. The trio pushes each other playfully as they wait for the go signal, sending each other competitive looks in the process. “GO!” They took off running through the forest, vaguely aware of the other members of their group following them in a much more leisurely pace. The three men run side by side, occasionally pushing each other as a form of sabotage. Gavin was currently in the lead, a bit ahead of the others, and turned his head a little to smile back at them.

“Later Bitches!” He laughs.

“Watch out for that tree root Gavin!” Ray calls out but it was too late. Gavin’s foot snagged on it and nearly sent him toppling to the ground. He barely managed to save himself but his momentary reduced sped put him behind Michael and Ray.

“Later Gavin!” Michael cackles as he passes Gavin, him now taking place of the Brit.

“Bollocks!” Gavin pants and continues running after the duo. As they raced on they soon encountered and obstacle on their track. A fairly high chain link fence that seemed to stretch forever blocked their path and made all three of them slow down.

“What should we do?” Michael asks but his question was quickly answered as Ray latches on to it.

“Climb it!” Ray says already part way up it, torch in mouth so he could get a better grip on the fence. Both Michael and Gavin quickly follow his lead. Ray got to the top before them and with a victorious smile throws a leg over the fence in order to begin the process of climbing down it. However, the smile instantly falls and is replaced by a pain filled yell around his torch causing both Gavin and Michael to stop climbing.

“What’s the matter!?” Michael calls up. He had taken his torch out of his mouth and was shining it up at Ray.

“The top…” he grunts around the object in his mouth. He sees the Puerto Rican’s face wince in pain as he tries to lift his leg back over to their side of the fence. The leg catches half way there and Ray groans as he tugs on it. “The top is lined with barbwire.” Both boys gasp and exchange brief looks with one another.

“Don’t worry Ray!” Gavin calls out to his struggling friend as he starts to climb over to him. Gavin has his own light shoved down in his pocket, trying to use to unfocused light from Ray’s and Michael’s torch to help guide him to his trapped friend. “I’ll help you. Just stop pulling on it before you tear-” But it was too late. With one harsh final tug Ray frees his leg, but the effort it took to free it caused him to lose his balance and fall from the fence. Michael and Gavin instantly climb down and hurry over to Ray. In the distance they could hear Geoff and the others call out to them but their attention was more focused on their friend. “Ray! Are you all right!?” Gavin asks in a slightly panicked tone as they reach him. Ray groans a little, let’s his torch fall from his mouth, and sits up wincing.

“Yeah, I think I ripped my leg up pretty good and I have this killer head ache but- AGH!” Ray cries out in pain and clutches his right arm, instantly cradling it to his chest.

“Ray! Ray man, what happened! Did you break it in the fall!?” Michael questions, trying to get Ray to give him his arm so he could see it. He shakes his head and clenches his eyes close, obviously in a sever amount of pain. “Ray. Tell me, what’s wrong?”

“It…It burns.” He gasps out, holding his arm out to be examined. Michael takes in and Gavin shines his light on it, but they don’t see anything immediately wrong with it. Michael slowly pushes up Ray’s sleeve to get a better look at the arm but not wanting to hurt him either. What they see cause both Michael and Gavin to freeze and stare at Ray’s arm in confusion and astonishment.

“W-what’s going on!” Geoff pants, the other three members of their group having finally arrived. Geoff leans against a tree, obviously out of breath, Ryan and Jack not looking any better themselves.

“Where heard yelling,” Jack explains. “What happened? Is everything all right?” Neither Gavin nor Michael turn to look at them, both still too focused on Ray’s arm.

“Guys?” Ryan asks. He slowly approaches them and peeks over their shoulders to see what they were so captivated over. Ryan’s eyes widen. “Jack, Geoff. Come look at this.” They did, both just as shocked as the others. Upon Ray’s arm was what looked to be eight little red hearts with the words life written in cursive red script underneath. Of those eight hearts, two of them looked to be completely drained of color, only leaving behind a white border, and one of them was only half filled with the color. The pain in his arm finally subsiding, Ray blinks back into focus to see his friends surrounding him and staring awe struck at his arm.

“Hey guys, whatcha doing? I know I’m sexy and all, but ogling my arm? Really? Get some self control.” Ray jokes, cracking a smile. No one laughs with him.

“Ray, shut the fuck up and look at your arm.” Frowning, the Puerto Rican looked down at his arm.

“What…” He mumbles awe struck, brown eyes widening as he gently runs a finger along the hearts on his arm.

“That’s what we want to know.” Jack says with a shake of his head.

“I mean, we are in a game.” Geoff notes and Ryan nods his head in agreement.

“So it only makes sense we have a health bar.” Ryan finishes, running a finger over Ray’s arm. “I’m thinking we all have one.” With that said the remaining five men check there arms, where, indeed, there were eight hearts, the only difference being that theirs were completely filled.

“This is mental.” Gavin breaths out, rubbing arm vigorously. “Ours is full, so does that mean when Ray hurt himself it drained his health?”

“That’s what I’m guessing.” Ryan confirms.

“What happened to your leg Ray? We heard screaming and came running to see this, the hell?” Jake says, the three older men just now noticing Ray’s leg that was scratched and bleeding pretty badly in some spots.

“We were climbing the fence, and I was about to jump over it. Little did I know the top was lined with freaking barb wire.” Geoff snorts a little and shakes his head.

“You really are bad with fences aren’t you?” Ray smiles wearily up at him.

“Guess I missed that gene.” The guys laugh lightly and Ryan picks up Ray’s leg to get a better look.

“We need to do something about this. It’s not life threatening but we really shouldn’t let you bleed this much for so long. Plus it’s rather big, it might get infected.”

“How the fuck are we going to stop the bleeding? I’m not sure about you guys, but I don’t exactly carry a fucking medical pack everywhere.” Michael points out. Ryan frowns and nods his head, looking at each of the group members as if searching for something. His eyes land on Gavin and he offers him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry Gav, but I think we’ll need your jacket.” Gavin pulls his jacket closer to him and frowns.

“What? Why does it have to be that? Can’t you use something else?” Ryan shakes his head.

“The only other option we have is to use strips of cloths from one of our shirts, and you know that isn’t fair.” He says, giving Gavin a look. Gavin stares Ryan hard in the eyes, sees that he’s fighting a losing battle, looks over at Ray’s leg, and then lets out a long suffering sigh.

“Oh bollocks, I like this one too.” He mopes, taking off the jacket and handing it to Ryan. Jacket in hand, he zips it up then folds it in half so it wouldn’t be too big to wrap around Ray’s leg. Next he wrapped it tightly around the leg and uses the sleeves to keep it in place.

“There, Ray stand up to see if it stays.” They all back off a little and Michael offers Ray a hand to help him stand up. Once up Ray takes a step forward and winces slightly as pain shoots through his leg.

“It stays, but it hurts like hell.”

“One of us can help you walk.” Geoff offers, already steeping up next to him so Ray can use him as support.

“That will only last so long though, we’ll have to find medical supplies.” Jack says, eyeing Ray’s makeshift gauze uncertainly.

“Where in the middle of a forest Jack!” Gavin says with a shake of his head. “Where the hell will we find something like that?”

“They gave us health right? So why wouldn’t they give us something to help replenish our health as well? That’s how games work isn’t in?” Geoff pipes in. He looks around at the others for their opinions.

“Yeah, but most games that give you health supplies give you weapons as well.” Ray says from his position leant against Geoff’s shoulder. “We don’t have anything to defend ourselves, so they probably won’t give us health either.”

“What about Amnesia though?” Michael says, drawing eyes to him. “You don’t have weapons in that game but you have health and a way to replenish it.” The group quiets after that, no one saying a word against Michael’s theory.

“So…?” Ray asks after a minute or two of silence.

“I guess we’re going to get Ray some medical supplies.” Gavin shrugs, the rest nodding their heads in agreement. With that the group sets off left into the forest, Michael and Jack leading, Ray and Geoff right behind them and Ryan at the rear. Gavin moves to follow him but something stops him. He bites his lower lip and frowns at the strange sensation that’s over taken him. Slowly, for reasons he doesn’t quite know, he flashes his light up the fence they had climbed. He shines the light along the top of the fence and frowns in confusion. He approaches the fence as to get a better look and he finds that his eyes really weren’t playing tricks with him. As Gavin looks up at the fence he sees no traces of barb wire, the top was completely clear of it and any signs that Ray might have hurt himself up there.

“How…” A strong gush of wind blows against his back and makes his clothes rustle against his body. As the wind blows past his ear he swears he hears soft giggling, turning his blood cold and his face pale. “H-hello?” He timidly calls out, not daring to move an inch from where he was standing. “Who’s there?” The giggling seems to be approaching him, growing louder and louder until he swears its right next to his ear.

“GaViN~” He could feel lips right next to his ear and he stops breathing, his heart racing a mile a minute.

“Who are-”

“Gavin.” Says a far deeper voice as he feels a hand grips his shoulder. He lets out a girlishly high pitched scream and twirls around, prepared to whack whatever was behind him with his torch. To his immense relief it wasn’t some hellish creature behind him but a mildly irritated and confused Ryan. Gavin release a large breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding and smiles weakly at Ryan.

“It’s only you.” Ryan sends him a confused look and nods.

“Yeah it’s me, who else were you expecting, your mum?” He asks, mocking Gavin’s accent towards the end of the question. Gavin laughs and playfully pushes him.

“Shut up you nob. Let’s hurry up and catch up with the others before they leave us behind.” Ryan laughs and nods.

“Don’t tell me to hurry, I held back cause I noticed your dumb ass had wandered off somewhere.”

“Sure, I think someone was looking for some animals he could molest while no one was looking.” He teased.

“Oh Gavin, no one can replace Edgar for me.” They laugh and jog lightly to catch up with their friends. Gavin doesn’t look back as he feels the wind blow against the back of his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing the race I was considering who's the most fit out of all the AH boys, and I honestly have no clue. My guess is between Michael or Geoff, maybe Gavin. What do you guys think? Also, please note. This story is told in Third limited POV for Gav. So I generally try to use words he'd use. So if you're reading this, and i say Flash light instead of torch(because im American trying to write British) please let me know so i can changer it!


	5. The Voice

_The air feels colder._ It was all he could think about. It felt like there was a constant cool breeze, yet the leaves never rustled, their clothes never lifted, there was absolutely no sign of a breeze. Yet it was still cold. Gavin’s skin still prickled as if the air around them was moving to and fro to make a draft. Gavin glances around at his friends, but none of them seemed to be affected by the drop of temperature. _Maybe it’s just me? Maybe, they don’t notice it, or just don’t care?_  He frowns and wraps his arms around himself as he shivers lightly. _Honestly though, you’d think they’d notice a little bit. Its bloody freezing!_

_“MaYbE ThEy’Re MoRe WoRrIed FoR ThEiR FrIeNd?”_ giggles a small feminine voice in his ear. The voice is static like and changes pitches frequently as it speaks, sounding distant one moment before sounding right next to him the next. Gavin’s head whips around, searching for the source of the voice, but no one is there.

“I…What?” He drawls out slowly in confusion.

_“He’S HuRt GaVvY, AnD aLl YoU cAn ThInK oF iS hOw CoLd YoU aRe!”_ The voice was growing harsh, mocking almost. Gavin stops walking and shakes his head. That wasn’t true. He was incredibly worried about Ray. They had been walking for quite awhile now and the chances of them finding a medical kit were lowering, and that scared Gavin. What happens if Ray’s health slowly drains to zero? Does he regenerate? Does he get booted out of the game? Does he…does he- _“DiE?”_ The voice was mocking him now. _“DoEs YoUr LiTtLe FrIeNd DiE? WhAt Do YoU CaRe?_  ArEn’T yOu MoRe WoRrIeD aBoUt ThE CoLd?” No! It’s not like that. He does care! Of course he cares! _“YoU’rE sO SeLfIsH! YoU dOn’T cArE!”_

_I do care!_

_“LiAr!”_

_I’m not lying!_

_“LiAR!”_

_I’m not!_

_“ **Liar!** ” _

_I am not-_

“Gavin!” Gavin blinks back into focus to see everyone stopped and turned to face him. Slowly registering what was going on he offers them a sheepish smile.

“Yeah?”

“What the hell man, we thought we lost you for a second there. You just stopped and no matter what wouldn’t respond to us.” Ray frowns. He was leaning against Geoff, trying to support himself the best he could without putting a lot of pressure on Geoff. His face was turning pale from the pain and the jacket being used as a bandage for his leg had developed a large red spot on it. As he looked at Gavin his eyes kept drifting in and out of focus and his brows were scrunched together in concentration. It was obvious the Puerto Rican wasn’t doing well, be it from blood loss or shock, Gavin didn’t know, but he did know they needed to get him help as soon as possible.

“Sorry, just thought I heard something.” Gavin laughs and rubs the back of his head with a shrug.

“You’ve been acting really weird ever since we got here,” Geoff notes with a concerned frown. “You okay?”

_“Tell them GaVvY. Tell them how you’re oh so cold. None of them expect anything more out of you. None of them like you anyways, GaVvY. Give them another reason to HaTe YoU.”_ The voice had changed. It was no longer choppy. It now flowed nicely through his head, only breaking up here and there. He swallows hard. Should he tell his friends about the voice he hears? About the things he keeps seeing? _“They’ll think you’re CrAzY.”_

_She’s right. They will. Maybe I should just keep it to myself…just for now._

“I’m tippity top!” Gavin cheers, ignoring the faint giggling in the back of his mind, and how the temperature grew ever so slightly warmer. “Ray, however, looks like shit.” The injured man snorts and sends a weary glare at him.

“Thanks for that dude, you really shouldn’t build my ego up that much.”

“Oh, you know me Ray, always the people pleaser.” He responds with a smirk. Ray chuckles and opens his mouth to make a comeback, but when he shifts some of his weight to his injured leg the only sound that came out was a pained gasp. Everyone tensed as they watched Ray’s face go through several different emotions as he shuts his eyes tightly and clenches his fist several times. Finally, tired brown eyes look back up at them and he sends them a forced smile that ends up looking more like a wince.

“I’m fine guys, stop looking like you’re about to shit yourselves.” Everyone visibly relaxes, as the frightened tension leaves their bodies, but concern doesn’t leave their eyes as they continue to watch Ray.

“All kidding aside, Ray really does look horrible.” Jack says, going to stand next to Ray to give him even more support to lean on. “I can’t tell if this is getting better or worse and we’ve yet to reach a place where we can do that without worry.”

“We need to find a place soon. There might not be much of a concept of time here, but I’m exhausted from all this wandering around in circles and I’m willing to bet you all are too.” Ryan sighs, leaning against a tree a looking up into the darkness above them.

“Yeah, plus I don’t think Ray can go much longer and I’m certainly not carrying his ass around this stupid forest.” Geoff jokes lightly, smiling down at Ray who returns it with a tired one of his own and a small nudge in the older man’s side.

“How ‘bout we just walk a little longer? Until Ray just can’t go anymore, then we’ll rest for a while.” Michael suggests rubbing a hand over his face. “There’s nothing else we can actually do. And we’ve yet to run into anything threatening, so resting in the forest shouldn’t be that bad.” He turns to look at Ray and cocks an eyebrow. “How’re you feeling man? Think you can go for a little bit longer before passing out?” Ray takes a deep steadying breath before straightening up and winking at the guys.

“Of course I can, it’s what my people do.” He smiles cheekily and the rest just laugh and shake their heads.

“That a boy Ray,” Geoff laughs, hauling him up further on his shoulder to get better leverage for him. “Now let’s get going, he’s getting heavy.” And so they start walking again, with the exception of Jack. The broad man stood rooted in place with a confused frown as he lets Ray’s arm slip from his shoulder and the others pass him.

“Jack?” Gavin asks as he notices he was the only one yet to move. Jack frowns some more before shaking his head and following the others.

“Nothing, let’s go.” Gavin hesitantly nods his head and follows behind his friend. Was it just him, or was the area around Jack colder than anywhere else?

* * *

They walked on through the darkness, the trees and vague shapes in the darkness molding together until all Gavin could truly identify was one large dark blur. The group was tired and dragged their feet, kicking leaves and stones as they passed. No one talked, all conserving their energy for their never ending hike. The silence was finally broken, however, when from the front of the group Gavin hears two pained and surprised yells followed by thumps. Gavin tried to shine his torch through the small gap Ryan’s and Jack’s side by side bodies made, but he couldn’t see what had happened. “What’s going on?” he asked from the back of the group. “Is everyone okay?” Grumbles, cursing, and pained groans were all he gained in response.

“Ray, buddy, you okay.” He hears Geoff asked followed by an inaudible reply from Ray.

“Well, I guess we’re stopping here for the night.” sighed Michael from the front of the group. Gavin had finally managed to squeeze his way past the two larger members of Achievement Hunter to see Geoff sitting next to Ray who was splayed face first into the ground.

“Tripped?” He asked, noting the log that lay next to Ray’s feet.

“You can say that.” He hears the Puerto Rican groan into the dirt. He chuckles softly and takes a seat next to Ray as Michael helps him sit up properly. Michael then flanks the opposite side while Geoff and Jack sit with their backs against trees directly across the trio. Meanwhile, Ryan sits right in front of Ray and slowly unwraps the jacket, less he hurt Ray more than he already is.

“Can one of you shine your light on his leg? It’ll be easier if I have both hands.” Michael and Gavin nod and both shine their lights on the injured body part, illuminating it in their dark surroundings.

“How’s it looking?” Ray asked, peeking down at his wound once Ryan had unwrapped it.

“Not infected,” he muses. “So that’s good. Still not in the best shape though, but at least the bleedings calmed down a lot.”

“How about your arm Ray,” Jack asks. “Since you’ve continued to bleed like this, has your “health” gone down?”

“It hasn’t hurt,” he notes and looks down at the little red hearts still indicating he was missing two and a half hearts. “And I still have the same amount of hearts, so I’m guessing I’m good in that department.”

“For now,” Geoff cuts in, frowning at his employees. “We need to get out of here, it’s no longer fun. Someone’s actually hurt.”

“Come on Geoff, I’m fine! I’m sure I’ll heal up as good as new soon. Maybe find some magic game pain killers, or maybe the hearts come back on their own. We don’t know for sure yet, don’t end the fun now.”

“No. We are leaving. It’s not safe to be here and as much as you assholes annoy the dicks out of me, I still don’t want to see any of you get seriously hurt. We don’t know the mechanics of this game, what if someone loses a limb? What if someone _dies_? We don’t know what will happen, and we can’t guarantee you’ll be completely fine. No, we are leaving now before something bad happens.”

“I agree with Geoff,” Ryan sighs. He turns Ray’s leg gently to the side to get a better look at it then sighs. “The dangers in this game might honestly be real, and I for one don’t want to be the one to test that out.” He repositions the jacket and wraps it tightly around Ray’s leg, making sure it’s securely in place before sitting back.

“But we don’t know that,” Michael insists, though he seems less sure of his argument as time progresses and Ray grows more pale. “We should give Ray a little more time, just to see what happens. If he doesn’t improve then we can go back, but we’ll never know unless we stick it out for a while longer.”

“No, I’ve made my decision. I might be your friend but I’m also your boss and I think it’s time to go!”

“What about the bet,” Gavin tries. “Your suggesting it, you’d lose.”

“I don’t care anymore Gavin,” he snaps. “I just want to get out of here.” It was obvious the older man was starting to get angry as well as the other two lads weren’t going to give up, so after a moment’s thought, Ray steps in to mediate the situation.

“Let’s calm down, take a nap, then, when everyone’s gotten some rest and some more energy we’ll decide what to do next.”

“Or you all shut the hell up and do what I say.” And despite the irate and defiant tone in Geoff’s voice it was clear that he was caving.

“I’m not saying that means we’re not leaving,” Ray pushes his luck further. “Just that we’ve been wandering in the dark forever now and that can get anyone a little high strung. It’s just so confining here, maybe it’s best to rest and reevaluate the situation with fresh minds.” Geoff chews his lower lip before looking over to Jack.

“What do you think?” The red head heaves out a heavy sigh and runs a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know, what Ray’s saying makes sense it’s just…” he shakes his head, allowing his hand to drop to his lap as he looks over at his boss in concern. “I’m just not to comfortable with sleeping in this place. It just doesn’t seem….safe.”

“We’ll take turns then.” Michael cuts in, quick to grab at an opportunity for them to stay in the game longer. “We each take a 15 minute watch, that way everyone will end up getting at least an hour’s worth of rest and be sure that nothing will happen while they’re asleep.” With a heavy sigh Geoff relents.

“Alright fine, but this isn’t over. We’re going home.” All three lads nod their heads quickly, exchanging sly smirks to each other. If he let it go once, he’ll let it go again. “Gavin, you’re up first.”

“Aw, why me!?”

“Because I’m certainly not getting first watch, Ray needs as much sleep as he can get, and because I said so idiot. Now stop complaining.” Gavin pouts but lets it go none the less, watching his friends relax and slowly drift asleep. He gazes up at the canopy of trees, trying to identify some sort of shape in the canvas, just one little peak of a star, but he couldn’t. It was just so damn dark here, it was driving him mad. Honestly, if whatever bad guy that was supposed to kill him doesn’t kill him first, then his darkness induced insanity certainly will. How was he even suppose to tell how when his fifteen minutes were up? And idea pops into his mind and he quickly shoves his hands into his pants pocket where his….phone definitely was not. Damn it. He must have left it on the table or something. He frowns and stretches out, gazing up at the darkness before looking over at his friends. He looks Ray up and down. With as much bravado Ray was showing it was still painfully obvious how weak he was becoming. Maybe they were pushing their luck. Maybe Geoff had a point, what if they get seriously injured, or, God forbid, died, would they regenerate. Or would they just cease to exist.

“Damn,” Gavin grumbles under his breath. “Why the hell didn’t this stupid game come with a bloody “how to” guide.”  He looks away from his friend and back up at the trees. “Why does this have to be so smeging complicated, it’s a game for Christ sake.” A gentle breeze ruffles Gavin’s hair and he feels his eyes grow heavy. “I need to stay awake.” He mumbles, already feeling his lids sagging.

“ _Shhh, now, now_ ,” sings an angelic voice. “ _You’re tired, darling, and you’ve worked so hard. Sleep._ ”

“But I’m on watch.” He mumbles.

“ _It’s okay, you all will be just fine. Trust me~_ ”

“Really?” His eye lids slowly slide shut.

“ _Really, I’ll watch over you,_ ” a soft delicate hand brushes against Gavin’s cheek and he can’t help but to nuzzle it. “ _So just sleep._ ”

“Just, just for a minute, then I’m back and watch duty.”

“ _Yes, yes of course._ ” And as Gavin slowly drifts of into his dreams he could have sworn the angles voice turn staticy.

“ _SwEeT dReAmS gAvVY~_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! I finally finished this chapter. I'll try to update more frequently, if not every other week at least once a month. Sorry for the delay!


	6. HeLlO

“Gavin! Gavin you absolute asshole, wake the fuck up!” Gavin mumbled something and half heartedly swatted at the hand aggressively shaking his shoulder. “I swear to fucking God!” He felt something hard painfully connect with his bicep which jolts him awake.

“Ow! What was that for!?” Slowly Michael’s angry scowl comes into better focus as sleep seeps out of his body.

“Because you fell asleep! You don’t fall asleep on watch idiot.”

“Sorry,” Gavin grumbles, rubbing his sore arm. “I don’t know what came over me, I was wide awake when suddenly I couldn’t keep my eyes open! There was this voice and it was just so soothing that I couldn’t help it!”

“A voice? Gavin, you’re losing it!”

“I-”

“What are you idiots arguing about?” Geoff groans as he sits up from where he was sleeping.

“Yeah, can you tune down your lover’s quarrel? Some of us are trying to sleep.” Ray grumbles, not bothering to get up quite yet.

“We’re not arguing, Gavin’s losing his fucking mind! He says he’s hearing voices.”

“No, I’m not! I just-”

“Voices, holy shit, we’re losing another one. First Ryan, now Gavin? Who’s next to succumb to the madness?” Ray teases, slowly sitting up, having given up on trying to sleep.

“Hey, I just trap virtual animals in holes, I don’t hear voices. That’s a whole other level of crazy.” Ryan defends, finally being awoken by all the noise.

“I’m not crazy you ming pots, I just heard…there really was a voice!”

“That’s what crazy people say dude.” Michael snickers.

“I’m not-”

“He’s right,” Jack cuts in. “There really are voices.” They all turn to look at him, Gavin sighing in relief that someone believed him and the others frowning in confusion.

“What are you talking about Jack? You aren’t defending him, are you?” Geoff asks, looking between him and Gavin.

“I’ve heard the voices too, or rather, voice. It’s some girl and it’s weird and staticy. I started hearing it not too long ago and it’s pretty fucking creepy.”

“You have got to be kidding!” Michael shouts with a shake of his head. “There aren’t any voices!”

“There is!” Gavin argues.

“Then why haven’t the rest of us heard it?”

_“I gUeSs that’s my CuE~”_

“What the hell was that?” Geoff shrikes while jumping to his feet, his voice cracking on the word that.

 _“I was doing so WeLl at staying HiDdEn.”_ The voice giggles.

“Who’s there?” Ryan demands standing up.

_“NoW nOw, don’t be so RuDe to a LaDy. Have you no MaNnErS?”_

“Where is that coming from?” Michael hisses, head whipping back and forth trying to find the source of the voice.

“I don’t know.” Geoff growls, searching as well. “I don’t see anyone.”

 _“Aw, you LoVeLy boy’s want to see little old Me~? Careful DaRlInGs, you all have girlfriends and wives to think about.”_ Gavin stands up and turns in a circle, trying to find the voice. It was the one that had been haunting him since he entered this game and he’d be damned if he missed his chance to see his harasser. _“But I guess if you want to see me So BaD, who am I to say No?”_ The air grows tense and the only movement was heads whipping back and forth trying to locate to source of the voice. Michael slowly stands up before helping Ray stand as well.

“Where is she?” Ray all but whispers. “She said she was coming out right? So where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Michael mumbles back. “Maybe she-”

“Guys.” They turn to Jack who was slowly rising to his feet and looking to his left. They follow the beam of his shaky light and freeze in terror. She was pale, almost translucent. Her long tangled Raven hair cascaded down her back and around her shoulders, and it swept across her face partially covering her eyes which were yellow with blood red irises. There seemed to be a static like aura surrounding her that made her appear glitched and off focus. As she watched them a crooked smile spreads across her lips revealing sharp jagged teeth and what appeared to Gavin to be a black tongue. She was terrifying, and with slow, elegant, glicted steps, she was making her way towards them.

“What the hell is that!” Ryan yells as he stumbles back at the sight of her.

 _“Aw, you’re HuRtInG my feelings!”_ She cackles, steadily growing closer.

“Ray,” Geoff whispers, eyes never leaving the approaching figure.

“Yeah,” he whispers back, again, never taking his eyes off her.

“How far do you think you can get running on that leg?”

“As far away from that thing as need be.”

“Good, then everyone get ready, on the count of three run.” Gavin shifts his position ever so slightly away from her, preparing to run, but then she catches his eyes and he becomes almost entranced by the sight of her. He felt drawn to her, her glow beckoning him to her like a moth to a bright light.

“One…” It was impossible to look away. It felt like if he wasn’t near that light, he’d die.

“Two..” He took a staggering step towards her and her deathly grin grew larger, almost inhumanly so.

“3…” She couldn’t be that bad, right? Maybe just a little bit basking in that glow of her and...

“Gavin.” Michael grabs his arm, jerking him out of his trance. He blinks over at his friend’s concerned gaze before nodding his head slightly and gently shaking off his grasp on his arm.

“Run!” They took off into the forest and away from Her. Geoff was far in front with the Lads in the middle and the other two gents out back. Michael supported Ray best he could as they ran, but the Puerto Rican held his own, despite the limp in his run. All around them they could hear her giggling, as if she was the forest and there was no way of escaping her grip. When Gavin dared to look back over his shoulder he could still see Her, walking leisurely behind them yet still managing to keep up.

“Damn it.” Gavin pants and pushes himself to run harder.

“Just…a bit…further guys. I think…I see… a clearing.” This gives everyone one final burst of energy as they book it towards the clearing that Geoff’s light was indicating. They burst into the clearing and after a quick survey of the area Geoff sees a house and starts heading towards it. “Over here, there’s a house.” They all follow suit in the direction Geoff ran. He throws open the door, which was thankfully unlocked, and runs inside.  He quickly ushers in the others before slamming the door closed and locking it. “Hurry, find stuff to block the door with.” He orders. Everyone, with the exception of Ray whose injury sapped his remaining strength and Michael, who was watching over the heaving Ray, quickly search the house, all coming back with Chairs and night stands.

“That should be good right?” Ryan asks while wedging a chair into an open space.

“Yeah,” Geoff says, eyeing their makeshift barricade. Gavin goes into the living room which is to the right of the front door. There’s a large window that faces the front of the house and as Gavin looks out it he sees Her. She giggles and waves before vanishing in a blink of an eye. “Is she still there?” Geoff asks from the entry way of the room.

“No,” Gavin slowly turns his eyes away from the spot she once stood. “She…she left.” Everyone was filing into the room now. Michael assists Ray, who looks far worse after their run, over to a couch which was situated in the middle of the room in front of a soot covered old fire place.

“Now what?” Michael asks, taking a seat next to Ray.

“I don’t know,” Geoff admits. “But we’ll worry about that later, there’s more important things right now. Ryan, you and I are going to look for medical supplies for Ray. Gavin and Jack, you two look for blankets and food. Michael, you stay here and watch after Ray, don’t let him go to sleep. The last think we want is for him to go into shock. Understood?” There was a quick chorus of “yes” before everyone hurries out the room to complete their tasks.

“I’ll look for food Jack, how about you go upstairs and look for the blankets and stuff.” Gavin was saying as he passed by Jack who was staring blankly up the stairs. “Jack?” Gavin questions, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at Jack. “Hey, Jack? What’s up?” The older male remains frozen in place, his gaze distant and vacant. “Jack? Jack!” He physically jolts out of his trance and looks over at Gavin with wide eyes.

“What?” Jack blinks slowly at Gavin. “Yeah? What is it?”

“Are…are you okay? You were just zoning out.”

“Huh? Uh yeah, yeah. Just thinking, a lot’s happened, you know?” Gavin nods hesitantly, slowly starting to walk towards his original destination.

“Yeah, okay, but if something’s wrong, like if something feels…not right, you’ll tell someone, yeah?” Jack smiles at him.

“Since when did you get so feely Gavin, wanting to talk about our feelings and everything?” Gavin laughs softly, feeling reassured by Jack’s response.

“Whatever you nob, last time I try being nice to you.”

“Hopefully, now go get some food. I’m starving.” Jack orders teasingly as he starts up the stairs.

“Aren’t you always?” Gavin calls after him. Jack laughs and throws some insult his way as Gavin hears him ascend the stairs. “Weirdo.” Gavin says as he peaks into a large room he assumes is the kitchen. Instead he enters a small dining room with a worn looking rectangular table. He cautiously enters the dark room and searches the wall for the switch. When he locates it the room is dimly lit up, causing it to appear fuzzy and even drearier than with the lights off. The floors were a deep oak and the wall paper was out dated and yellowing in spots. He looks to the other end of the room and sees a set of off-white double doors. He heads over to them, floor creaking ominously under him, and pushes them open. The kitchen is a lit by a luminescent light, a stark contrast to the dining room. The floors were filthy and yellowing, the cabinets were cracked and stained, and appeared as though if Gavin applied too much pressure they’d come crashing down around him. The few appliances that were there were old fashioned and looked as if they hadn’t been touched in years. Gavin walks over to the sink and flicks it on. The pipes groan loudly in protest and, surprisingly, murky brown water slowly seeps out of it. Gavin pulls a face of disgust and turns it off. “God, that stuff is minging.” He says. “Hopefully there’s something better around here.” He then tries the fridge. The light bulb has gone out and the inside was filled with foods that had gone bad years ago. Next he makes his way over to the pantry where he finally strikes gold. Two of the shelves were stocked with various canned foods and on the very top shelf were two boxes of some brand of cereal he had never heard of. “At least we have something to eat.” He notes, going to check the cabinets next. Around the kitchen counters he finds some pots, pans, and plates but nothing too useful until he checks the cabinet under the sink. He chuckles to himself as he gazes at the varying types of alcohol that fills it. “It might be warm,” he smirks as he picks up a bottle of beer and examines it. “But desperate times calls for desperate measures.” He puts it back and shifts through the different bottles, reading the labels as he went. “Pretty good stuff too.” His hand knocks against a white container, tipping it over, but he catches it before it can crash into the others. “What’s this?” he asks, turning it around in his hands trying to find a label. Finding none he shrugs and puts it back, picking up a bottle a whiskey instead. “Better head back.” He closes the cabinet and gets up. He turns off the lights as he leaves both the dining room and kitchen and heads back over to the living room.

“No way!” he hears a weak voice yell.

“Come on Ray, we need to stop the bleeding and apparently wrapping it isn’t working.”

“No! Just give me a band aid or something!”

“Aren’t you listening? That’s not working! The bleedings getting worse! This is the only thing I can think of to help you!”

“Well let’s brain storm some different ideas then because you are not-”

“What’s going on?” Gavin asks as he rounds the corner to the room. Ray was pressing himself into the cushions of the couch, clutching his injured leg defensively away from Ryan who was trying to grab the leg with one hand while holding a sewing needle in the other. Michael was attempting to wedge himself between the two and Geoff was standing off to the side, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“This lunatic’s trying to sew my leg!”

“I’m trying to help you.” Ryan defends while moving his arm away from Michael who was trying to grab the needle from his hand.

“What? Why?” Gavin asks, quickly rushing over to the group, but first setting the Whiskey down on the mantle of the fire place.

“Ray’s leg won’t stop bleeding and it’s starting to edge dangerously close to life threatening. We need to close the wound, there really isn’t any other options.” Geoff explains tiredly.

“Why not just wrap it up with some bandages? Didn’t you find any?”

“Yes,” Ryan huffs. “We found some, but we’ve already tried wrapping it up before and see how well that’s working. This is the next best thing we can think of.” Gavin looks over at Ray. Despite how actively he was fighting Ryan it was obvious that he was weak. His face was a deathly pale and his eyes had a dulled quality to them. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat that caused his bangs to stick to his forehead. Gavin’s eyes travel over to lock with Geoff’s. The older man looked tired and torn, like this was the last thing he wanted to deal with in their situation. Gavin sends him a questioning look, trying to get his opinion on the matter without saying anything out loud. Geoff sighs and looks at his feet before looking back up at him with firm eyes.

“Ray,” Gavin says, eyes slowly leaving Geoff to look at Ray. “Let me see your arm.” Ray seems to hesitate before shaking his head.

“No, it hasn’t hurt. I’m fine Vav, help them see sense. This is crazy!”

“Just let me see your arm you pleb.” Ray huffs but thrusts his arm towards him.

“Fine, here.” A heavy silence fills the room as they stare at his arm. He was down by another heart. “I…but it hasn’t hurt. I mean, it’s itched, but that’s all.”

“It has to be because you’re bleeding out. Ray, we need to close the wound.” Ryan practically begs. Ray looks at his health bar, then to Ryan. Slowly his gaze travels to each person in the room before they finally land on Gavin.

“Sorry X-Ray,” Gavin gives him a small smile and shrug. “But I have to go with the mad king on this one.” Ray lets out a long groan before releasing his leg and extending it towards Ryan.

“You’ve betrayed me Vav! How could you!?” He wails dramatically.

“I’m sorry X-Ray!” he cries back just as passionately. “His mind powers were too strong! My Slow mo powers never stood a chance.” Michael cackles as he plops back down next to Ray on the couch.

“You guys are losers!” He laughs.

“But Mi-Cool.” Gavin whines.

“But Mi-Cool.” The others mocked in unison, filling the room with laughter and lighting the mood.

“Okay, okay, time to get serious. You ready for this Ray?” Ryan asks, setting up a needle and thread, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and a hand towel.

“Of course, YOLO right?” he smiles nervously. “Though if someone could knock me out so I can sleep through the pain that’d be swell.”

“Yeah, it’s going to hurt like dicks.” Geoff nods. “Too bad we don’t have some booze. That’s what they used for numbing medicine in the old days, right?” A light goes off in Gavin’s head.

“Oh! Wait! I’ve got some bevs over here!” He hurries over to the mantle and grabs the whiskey bottle to show everyone.

“Where’d you find that?” Geoff asks, eyeing the bottle.

“In the kitchen, there’s a bunch of different drinks in there.” He walks over and holds the bottle out to Ray. “Bottoms up.”

“Wow, I’m breaking all sorts of rules today,” Ray laughs as he grabs the bottle. “First going outside and now drinking. Who’s next? Will Michael stop screaming at games? Maybe Gavin will become smart? Or maybe Ryan dumb? Or better yet, what if Geoff actually stops drinking? Now that really would be a miracle.”

“Shut the fuck up Ray.” Geoff rolls his eyes.

“I’m just bringing the comedy boss.” This makes the older male snort.

“Yeah, well maybe try bringing it here for once.” Ray laughs and uncaps the bottle.

“Well,” he swishes the liquid around. “Here goes nothing.” He tilts his head back and takes a large swig and instantly starts chocking. “Wow, ow, that burns.”

“Don’t be a little bitch Ray, take another drink.” Michael teases, making Ray nudge him weakly but takes another large swing regardless. He winces again and hands the bottle back to Gavin who caps it and places it back on the mantel. “All right,” he says clapping. “Let’s do this!” Ryan un-wraps the jacket and tosses over to the side. He then takes the wash cloth and pours some of the peroxide onto it. Next, he wipes the blood away from the wound before wiping the wound itself in hopes of sterilizing it somewhat. The wound continues to bleed as Ryan threads the needle and dips it into the peroxide to clean it. Finally he gets the needle in position to start sewing, but stops to look at Ray.

“On the count of three,” he says, watching Ray’s expression in case he hit’s something he wasn’t supposed to. “One…two…three.” The needle pierces his skin and he pulls it over to connect to two pieces of flesh before pulling up to push them together. Ray gasps and squeezes his eyes shut. Ryan waits until he sees a peak of brown eyes before talking to him. “How was that?”

“It hurt, but it could have been worse.”

“That’s thanks to the booze!” Geoff laughs.

“Okay, well, I’ll be as quick as I can, but I can’t go too fast unless you want me to mess up and have to undo a stitch.”

“Do your thing.” Ray says, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. Ryan begins to stitch up the wound at a steady and meticulous pace, Ray wincing every time the needle pierces his skin. Gavin turns away, the sight and sound of the flesh being sewed turning his stomach and triggering his sensitive gag reflex.

“Oh God…” he gags clutching his stomach.

“Damn it Gavin, come on.” Geoff grumbles as he tugs the nauseous Brit out of the room. “We’re going to go look for Jack, asshole should have been back by now.” He tells the other three in the room.

“Okay, if Gavin pukes video tape it for me!” Michael snickers. Gavin whines but is too busy suppressing his gag to say anything as he’s pushed out the room and into what turns out to be the downstairs toilet. He rushes over to the toilet and heaves for a few minutes into it before finally feeling his stomach calm down. He sits back with a sigh before looking up and sending Geoff a sheepish smile.

“Come on idiot. Let’s go find Jack.”

* * *

The voice just wouldn’t shut up. Yes, Jack now knew who it was. Yes, it was Her. Yes, she was _evil._ He knew he shouldn’t listen to her, that he should try to block out every word she said to him, it was just that…that her voice was so convincing, so inviting and trustworthy. It was just too hard to ignore her. Jack enters the last room on the second level in this house and smiles as he finally comes across a bed with sheets. The previous rooms were filled with desks, book cases, or, in one case, a bedroom with a sheet-less and frameless mattress. He walks over and strips the bed, folding them when he’s done and placing them in a pile on the mattress so he can investigate the rest of the room. This room, like the other three he had gone in, contained old dark wood furniture and an oak floor. All the draws were empty and the closet was filled with old fashioned dresses and blouses. His search coming up empty, he grabs the sheets and decides he should head back over to the living room to see if anyone else had better luck with finding materials.

 _“JaCk.”_ Whispers Her static laced voice.

 _Ignore her, she’s dangerous._ He thinks as he picks up his pace.

 _“No JaCk, PlEaSe. LoOk, YoU hAvE tO lOoK!”_ He hesitates, the unshakable curiosity begging for him to look to his right.

_No…no, I need to go check on the others._

_“It’Ll OnLy TaKe A mOmEnT. Jack, please.”_ His head whips to the left. Caiti stood there, her soft eyes begging him.

“Caiti how-”

_“Please Jack, it’ll only take a second.”_

“I-”

 _“Please, for me.”_ He chews his lip in hesitation. It can’t really be his Caiti, there was absolutely no way. But she looked just like her. She had her silky brown hair and the same button nose that he loved so much. She was so similar, and looking at her, he just can’t say no to her. Because he loves Caiti…and this must be here….Maybe just a peak won’t hurt. Slowly he turns to his right to see a long wall of portraits. The wall stretched for what appeared to be miles on either side of him and it rose to the heavens. It was unnatural, but he didn’t notice, too focused on his Caiti’s voice whispering desperately next to him. _“Jack, it’s wrong, it’s all out of order. Fix it.”_

“But-”

 _“Jack, please.”_ Really, how could he say no to her? He takes one picture down and switches it with another. He repeats this process again and again and again and he doesn’t know what he’s doing or how he’s fixing the problem, but he does know that Caiti is next to him, telling him to fix it, fix it, fix it, and though her voice is slowly losing Caiti’s accent and turning into something that can’t possibly be his wife’s voice, he can’t stop. He _won’t_ stop. It’s wrong, all wrong, and he needs to fix it.

Fix it.

Fix it.

FiX iT.

* * *

“Jack!” Geoff calls as he and Gavin head up the stairs. “Why are we always searching for you? Come on!” They reach the top and turn the corner to see Jack rearranging pictures at a feverish pace, muttering something repeatedly under his breath. “There he is.” Geoff sighs and hurries over to Jack. Gavin moves to follow but stops.

_“Fix it._

That voice. It’s here. Where is she? Gavin spins around, trying to find Her. All the while Geoff stands next to Jack and grasps his shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing?” Jack continues to mutter and her voice begins to pick up pace and volume, as if she’s excited, like some treat was about to happen.

_“Fix it.”_

“Geoff…” Gavin calls, head still whipping back and forth, desperate to find the source of the voice before her little surprise cones to flourish.

“Not now Gavin,” he brushes off, still trying to get Jack’s attention. “Come on dude, we need to go down stairs and make sure Ryan hasn’t gone mad scientists on Ray.” Jack’s hands seem to move faster to match the chanting of her voice and his mutter which was slowly picking up volume.

_“FiX it.”_

“Geoff,” Gavin tries again, voice becoming more desperate.

“Not now Gav. What was that Jack? I can’t hear you buddy.”

“Fix it. Fix it Fix it.” Jack rants, voice haggard and crazed.

_“FiX it.”_

“Geoff!” Gavin cries in a panic. She’s cackling, her voice mocking Jack’s words with morbid excitement.

“Fix it.”

_“FiX it.”_

“Fix it.”

“We have to move him!” Gavin yells, running over to Jack and trying to pull him away from the wall. “Geoff, help!” Geoff nods and starts pulling him with all his strength as well, but it was as if an imaginary force had cemented him to this spot.

“Fix it. Fix it.”

_“ **FiX iT! F**_ _**iX iT!** ” Squeals the voice._

“Jack!” Geoff yells, pulling him as hard as he can.

“Jack, please!” begs Gavin.

“Fix it. Fix it.”

 _“ **FiX iT! FiX iT! ” **_She lets out an ear piercing cackle and everything stops. The room goes dead quite. No more Jack muttering, or pictures moving, or Her chanting. Just dead quite. Both Geoff and Gavin had stopped pulling on him, startled by the sudden quite.

“Jack?” Geoff questions gently. Jack whispers something, his voice too soft for them to hear him. “What was that buddy?”

“One more,” he repeats. Not acknowledging the others at his side. “Just one more and it will be perfect.”

“No Jack, maybe we should just go down stairs and-”

“One more,” he says again, slowly reaching for a single picture that had yet to be touched. “Just one more.” His hands grasp around the frame. He slowly stars lifting it off its hook, looking absolutely captivated by it. “Just. One. More.”

_“BaNg.”_

“JACK!”


	7. Why did this happen?

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Gavin had yelled and lunged to push Jack out of the way, but it was too late. As Jack lifted away the picture there was a defiant click before the loud ring of a shot gun filled the air. Jack’s body stiffened and he slowly looked down at his chest, which now sorted a gaping bloody hole. He looks over to the horrified faces of Geoff and Gavin with a confused and shocked expression of his own. He opens his mouth to say something but the only thing that comes out is a gurgle of blood that trails across his lips a down his mouth to his beard which becomes stained by the scarlet color.

“Jack?” Geoff croaks, eyes wide and body rooted in place. Jack sways in place as he looks at Geoff helplessly before collapsing in a heap on the floor, the blood gushing from his chest quickly forming a puddle around him. “Jack!” Geoff’s legs finally remember how to move as he hurries over to his side and rolls Jack onto his back. “Jack, come on dickhead, you can’t die.”

“Geoff-”

“Shut up Gavin! Don’t say a word!”

“But…just c-check…” Gavin swallows hard, unable to look away from his friend’s wounded chest. “Check his arm, maybe…maybe he has more lives?” Geoff looks up at him and nods his head quickly. He grabs Jack’s arm and turns it up to face him. The hearts were steadily depleting, leaving behind white empty borders.

“Stop, please.” Geoff begs as he watches the last heart drain to half, then slowly empties until there was nothing left.

“Well?” Gavin asks. He already knows the answer.

“Nothing…” Geoff whispers. “Oh God.” He moans. He drops Jack’s arm to cover his own face with his hands. “Oh God no, please no. He can’t be!”

“What the fuck is going on? Was that a gun shot?” Michael asks while rounding the corner. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees Geoff crouched by a seemingly unconscious Jack. The way Gavin stood blocked Michael’s view of Jack, leaving him in the dark of exactly what he was seeing. “Is he okay!?” Gavin tears his eyes away from the still bleeding Jack to look over at Michael. Apparently, Gavin’s face answered the question because color quickly drains from Michael’s face and his eyes widen fractionally in fear. “No…I…he’s…?” Without saying a word Gavin looks back down at Jack and steps to the side to show the lifeless body slowly staining the floorboards under it red. “He’s…?” Michael whispers.

“Yeah,” Geoff sniffles, tears beginning to seeps from his eyes. “Yeah.”

“How?”

“Shot gun.”

“But…but that’s impossible. Why was there even a-”

“I don’t know, but there was one and now…” There is a long silence as they stare at Jack, no one ready to accept what happened to their friend quite yet. It was Gavin who finally, albeit uneasily, broke the silence.

“What do we do?” Both he and Michael turn to Geoff for guidance.

“I…we need to tell the others…and…and talk about this. We’ll…we’ll decide what to do after.” With one final look, Geoff gently closes Jack’s eyelids and stands up. His back rigid and tear trail’s staining his cheeks. When Gavin looks back at Michael, he looks shaken and tears start to form in his eyes. He knows that if the stinging in his own eyes were any indication, he probably didn’t look any better himself. Without a word, Geoff passes by both of them and heads down the stairs. Not knowing what else to do or say, both men follow stoically after him. Back in the living room, Ryan was finishing up bandaging Ray’s now sewn leg while the Puerto Rican blinks tiredly down at him.

“What was all that ruckus about earlier?” Ryan asks as he hears them entering the room. “Sounded like a gunshot or something.” When no one answers, he looks over at them with a concerned expression. “What? Did something happen?” Again, no one answers and after a few minutes Ray finally asks the question the trio were dreading.

“Where’s Jack?” The image of Jack staring helplessly at Gavin pops into his mind causing, the tears that had been threatening to fall to finally flow down his cheeks. Gavin shakes his head and rubs his eyes trying to combat the tears, to no avail.

“He’s…” Michael tries, but becomes too choked with emotion to continue, leaving Geoff to transmit the message.

“He’s dead.” Geoff answers, voice cracking at the end. Ryan and Ray stare at them in disbelief.

“No.” Ryan says firmly. “No, you’re lying.”

“I wish I was.” Geoff says with a humorless smile. Ryan shakes his head.

“I don’t believe you, where is he?”

“Ryan…”

“Where is he!?”

“Upstairs.” Gavin answers quietly. Ryan jumps up and rushes out the room. They hear him run up the stairs before everything goes quiet again. No one says a word as they wait for him to return and when he finally does all he could do was stare mournfully at his feet.

“Well?” Ray asks with a hint of desperation in his voice, as if he was hoping Ryan would come back with Jack in tow to lecture the other three about how untactful a joke like that was. Instead, he looks up at Ray sadly before looking back at his feet with a single shake of his head. “What are we going to do?” Ray asks, voice shaky.

“We have to bury him.” Ryan says. “I mean, we can’t just leave him there.”

“Yeah,” Geoff agrees. “Yeah, that makes sense. And then we go home immediately after. Understood?” They all nod their heads, but Gavin bites his lip hesitantly. Something wasn’t sitting well with him.

“How…how do we leave?”

“Just unblock the door.” Michael says dismissively.

“No, how do we leave the game?” Everyone paused. Sure, they had constantly referenced leaving, but never once had they put any thought on how to go about that.

“It can’t be that hard, right?” Ray tries, looking between them. “In the end it’s still a game, so we have to be able to quit.”

“I agree with Ray,” Michael nods. “There has to be a way out.” Though he doesn’t voice his opinion, Gavin wasn’t so sure it would be that easy.

“Let’s take it a step at a time. I just want to…” he trails off. Geoff rubs his eyes with one hand to clear the tears that continue to linger in them. “I just want to give Jack peace, okay?”

“Geoff,” Gavin starts softly, going to pat Geoff reassuringly on the back, but the other quickly side steps him and address the room instead.

“Ryan, come up stairs and we’ll…yeah…” He coughs uncomfortably but Ryan understands the implied order and nods his head regardless. “The rest of you see if you can find shovels and start…and start digging his,” Geoff swallows hard and his voice cracks as he finishes his sentence. He visibly chokes on the word they all know should come next. “Start digging his grave. We’ll meet in the backyard and do a ceremony or something.” They nod as Geoff and Ryan go upstairs.

“When we were running I thought I saw a shed when we ran in here, though a fence was blocking the view so I’m not so sure, but, uh, there’d probably be a shovel in there.” Ray mentions weakly.

“Uh, yeah,” Michael says, rubbing his eyes roughly. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go check it out Gavin. Ray, you better stay here.”

“As if.” He says with a roll of his eyes as he forces himself off the couch.

“Ray-”

“Just let him come Michael,” Gavin sighs, his voice dull and pained. “If he wants to come, just let him.” Michael looks as if he wants to protest but drops it and hooks one of Ray’s arms around his shoulder to support him instead. “Come on, there’s probably a back door in the kitchen.” Gavin says as he gestures for them to follow him, which they willingly do. Gavin leads them to the kitchen, where, sure enough, there was an unlocked back door.

“She could have attacked us at any moment.” Ray mumbles. “The door’s unlocked, why wait?”

“Does it really fucking matter?” Michael asks harshly. “Let’s just get the stupid shovel.” They make their way into the yard. It is caged in by a rotten wooden fence that is laced with waist-high grass and vines. Weeds are scattered precariously throughout the yard hiding any number of strange creatures. Off in the corner stands a Weeping Willow whose branches swung low and close to the ground. Michael helps Ray sit down on the step that leads from the kitchen. “You wait here, Gavin and I will get the shovel.”

“But-”

“Oh shut up, it’ll be quicker if you just stay here.” Ray sighs but doesn’t push the issue. Gavin and Michael make their way to a broken down shed at the back of the yard. It has blue walls and white doors. The paint is chipping off in large flakes around holes and dents. Inside there is a dirt floor that is dotted dark patches and swift movements. The room is dark and smells heavily of mildew that makes Gavin gag. The ceiling sags under an unseen weight and threatens to give way on them at any moment.

“God, let’s hurry up. It smells like death in here.” Michael sends him a look.

“Really, Gavin?” Said man winces as he plays back his words in his head.

“Right, not the best word choice there.” Michael rolls his eyes.

“You think?” They shift around the small dark room, examining each garden tool before finding two shovels hidden behind a weed whacker.

“Well,” Gavin sighs, handing Michael one of the shovels. “Let’s get this over with.”

* * *

If seeing his lifeless body the first time wasn't hard enough, coming upstairs to see him still lying there, motionless, was harder. All Geoff could do was stare at Jack’s body as it lied there. Barely thirty minutes ago Jack had been full of life. He had been there to experience everything this game brought with them. Now, Jack couldn’t feel anything. Not happiness, anger, fear, compassion. Nothing. Now, all he was to the world was fertilizer for this hell hole. And Geoff hated it. This wasn’t fair, none of this was fair. They shouldn’t even been in this fucking game! They should be in their office editing some stupid video or filming a GTA let’s play, or anything other than having to plan their friend’s fucking funeral. How was any of this fair!

“Geoff.” Ryan says softly, breaking Geoff from his thoughts. He didn't know how long they’d been standing there, but his palms had indentions from where he clenched his fist to hard and his checks were soaked from the tears that had undoubtedly fallen. “Geoff, we have to do it eventually. Come on.” Geoff quickly dries his cheeks before looking over at Ryan, then back to Jack before nodding.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.” They go over to Jack, Geoff at the head and Ryan at the feet, and lift him. “Okay, slowly.” They cautiously make their way to, then down, the stairs, their grip tight on Jack so he doesn't slip.

“I think there’s a kitchen to you’re right. Let’s see if there’s a door over there.” Ryan pants once they’ve reached the bottom of the stairs. Geoff nods once before going around the stair case to the right. They see a bright light peaking under a pair of doors and decide to try that one. They enter the dining room and then the kitchen, until finally they reach the back door. Once there, they take a moment to readjust their grip, then Geoff kicks at the door with the heel of his foot.

“Open up!” He calls and, moments later, the door opens. When they make it out side Ray shuts the door behind them and points over to the willow in the corner of the yard where Gavin and Michael were currently digging.

“They dug it over there,” Ray explains. “It, uh, should be good I think. Need any help?”

“No, we’re fine.” Ryan says. “Let’s go.” The two head over to the tree with Ray limping slowly behind them. Gently, they set Jack down next to the hole. “You guys done?” Ryan calls down to them. The hole just reached about six feet and about the length of Jack’s shoulders.

“I guess.” Michael sighs as he looks around himself.

“All right then, get out so we can…” Geoff says tiredly as runs a hand through his hair. They do as told and soon Jack is carefully lowered into the hole while the others stand around him.

“Uh, so who’s…?” Gavin trails off, looking at the mound of dirt next to the grave.

“I’ll do it.” Michael volunteers quietly as he grabs a shovel and starts filling the hole.

“I’ll help as well.” Ryan says, grabbing the other one. The hole slowly fills, until it’s just a small mound of upturned dirt with a stick and some stones they had found to use as a grave marker.

“We should say something.” Ray says as they all stand in silence. “That’s what people do at funerals, right? Say something about the person?” They all hum in agreement, but no one speaks.

“I guess I’ll go first then…” Ryan finally says after a while. “You were a good man…And, if I had to share my voice with anyone, I’m glad it was you Jack.” He sends a watery smile down at the grave. “We both were kind of the outcast, weren’t we? Then I kind of lost my mind and apparently people like that so, I kind of left you behind, didn’t I?” He pauses. “But you always worked so hard and…and…yeah, you…you were a good man.” Ryan sniffles and nods, indicating he was done.

“I’m sorry,” Michael was the next to speak. “I was kind of an asshole to you at times, wasn’t I? I never meant any of the shit I said, really, it was just for the cameras after all. But, maybe I took it too far at times.” He rubs his face to prevent tears from falling. “I’m sorry Jack, I’m so sorry, I just…I…fuck.” He shakes his head and motions for someone else to speak. Gavin steps forward.

“Michael wasn’t the only one who was an ass. I’m…I’m not the most likeable person, I’m sure you know that. In fact, I’m a bit of a dick. But…but, we had our good times, yeah? It was kind of fun when we got along well…well, as much as anyone can get along with me.” He shrugs. “Like Ryan said, you were a good man, and a hard worker, and…wow…this really sucks, doesn’t it.” He laughs cheerlessly. “I…can someone else go?”

“I guess that means it’s my turn then, huh?” Ray ruffles his hair nervously. “I’m, um, not the best with words but…you were a cool dude Jack. It’s…it’s hardly fair that you had to go, epically in this stupid game, I….you’re a good friend Jack, and I’ll, hell, we’ll all miss you…. I…wow…this is hard…” He shakes his head. “I guess, all I have left to say is…goodbye.” There was another long silence between them as they wait for Geoff to go. After a long while he finally clears his throat.

“Jack…” he says quietly, slowly. “You were there from the very beginning. When Achievement Hunter was a fucking pipe dream, when all we did was shitty game guides, that, quite frankly, didn’t help anyone.” He laughs softly. “You helped me build this company up man, and I’m…I’m so grateful.” He brushed his hand against his mouth before resting it on his forehead. “You were my best friend Jack, I…what am I going to do without you? Fuck, what the hell is Achievement Hunter going to do without you?” He laughs again, this time more sharp and bitter. “You were this company’s rock asshole. You were the only sane one in this office. And, god damn it Jack, I’m going to be lost without you. I-” his voice cracks. “In the end I guess I want to tell you thank you, for helping me with this company, for being a great friend, for working so hard…for…for everything. And I just want to tell you that I’ll…” He pauses. Tears were streaming unabashedly down his face as he stares at the mound of dirt that held Jack. Jack who was big, and goofy, and grumpy, and diligent, and a fucking hard worker, and so very, very, very dead. It wasn’t fair, and he couldn’t help how choked his voice comes out when he speaks next.

“And I’ll miss you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...you've guys been waiting to see what happens...heh. I'm not gonna say anything for sure, but he may or may not be the only death. Only time will tell! So be prepared for that! 
> 
> Also, it was hard writing the ending. I don't know what they would say, especially Ray since his and Jack's relationship is so neutral it's not even funny. I did have a head cannon though that Jack and Geoff had to be uber close since they started AH together :)


	8. Who's to blame?

They stand there for a while longer, but eventually, one by one, they head back inside, saying one last goodbye to Jack and sending Geoff a concerned look as they went. Soon it was just him and Gavin left, the two standing side by side as they stare at the grave.

“Geoff…” Gavin says after a while, throat aching in the attempt to hold in any tears that still begged to fall from his now dried eyes.

“No.” Geoff grunts instantly, not bothering to look at Gavin though he knew the other’s green eyes were gazing intently at his stiff form.

“But Geoff-” he tries again.

“No.” His voice was firm and heavy with emotion as his fists clenches and unclenches at his side.

“It’ll be okay Geoff, I’m sure-”

“It will not Gavin, it will not be okay! Our friend is dead!” Geoff snarls, cutting Gavin off. Geoff’s body was stiff and his voice was hard as he speaks to Gavin, causing the other to take a sallow breath before trying to placate his friend once more.

“Yea…I know,” Gavin says in what he hopes is a calming voice. “And I’m upset about it too, but we don’t know what happens after you die here. Maybe you-”

“Maybe you what, Gavin?” He snaps, bearing his teeth in disgust. “Maybe he’ fine? Maybe he’s safe and sound back at home? Do you honestly think that Gav?”

“I-”

“Well news flash, he’s not.” Geoff finally tears his eyes away from the grave in front of him to glare daggers at his companion, his normally sleepy blue eyes now hard and cruel. Gavin can feel hi Adams apple bob in worry, scared at the harsh unfamiliar look in Geoff’s eyes. “He’s not okay. Once you die here, there’s nothing. I’m not even sure there’s a heaven or a hell as far as this place is concerned! All I know is that now Jack’s nothing but fucking fertilizer!”

“You can’t think like that Geoff” Gavin pleads, taking a small step forward, wanting desperately to reach out to the grief stricken man. “We have to thing positive, otherwise we’ll all go bloody mad!”

“Think positive! What about this situation seems positive to you?” Geoff’s voice was steadily rising, and as his hands form into fist that threaten to rise with his voice, Gavin finds himself retracting his step, fear briefly washing over him.

“Right now, not much. But-”

“No, Gavin, no buts. We’re fucked, and you know what!?” Geoff’s body was now fully turned towards Gavin as Geoff toward over the Brit, causing him to cower slightly.

“What?” He asks, voice small.

“It’s all your fault!” He shoves Gavin, knocking him back slightly.

“What!?”

“It’s all your fault Gavin! I didn’t want to play this stupid fucking game. Jack didn’t want to play it! But you kept bitching and moaning and we allowed it! Remember what I said? If something goes wrong I’m blaming you? Well, guess what? Something’s gone wrong!” Each accusation was accented with a harsh shove as Gavin stared at him with his jaw dropped in shock.

“You can’t blame it all on me Geoff!” Gavin yells back defensively, grabbing Geoff’s wrist and holding them away from him. “I wasn’t the only one who wanted to play! And you’re a big boy, you could have said no! But you went along with it anyways!”

“We both know how you are, Gavin. You would have whined about it until we said yes!” He barks, ripping his hands out of Gavin’s grasp.

“Shut up! You are not using me as a scape goat for what happened to Jack! I know you’re upset, but that’s no reason to take it out on me! I’m your friend Geoff!”

“I’m not taking it out on anyone! I’m stating the truth!” Geoff laughs humorlessly. “And some friend you are! You’re the one who talked us all into this. You were reckless and childish and Jack’s blood is on your hands!” Gavin stands there a moment, not trusting his voice not to crack while speaking. When he finally regains his composure, his voice wavers as he speaks softly, not daring to look at Geoff as he felt tears prick his eyes.

“Fine, think whatever you want. See what I care asshole.” Then he storms inside and slams the back door closed. Geoff sighs and rubs his face tiredly.

“That was uncalled for.” He mumbles to himself. “I should apologize.”

“ _ShOuLd YoU_?” Geoff frowns and shakes his head. He felt confused as his vision swayed in and out of focus.

“O-of course I should, it wasn’t his fault.”

“ _WaSn’T iT tHoUgH? hE sUgGeStEd It, DiDn’T hE? iT's HiS fAuLt ThAt YoU'rE aLl TraPpEd HeRe, IsN't It?_ ”

“It wasn’t his fault.” He said firmly, trying his best to fight off the creeping drowsiness he felt.

“ _Oh?_ ”

“It…it wasn’t” he mumbles, body sagging and eyes drooping lethargically.

“ _YeS iT iS~ It’S GaViN’s FaUlT. UsElEsS GaViN’s FaUlT._ ”

“Gavin’s fault…”he whispers with a small nod of his head.

“ _OhOhOh, BuT CaN wE lEaVe UsElEsS GaVvY wItH aLl ThE bLaMe?_ ”

“I…”

“ _Of CoUrSe NoT, bEcAuSe YoU’rE tHe BoSs GeOfF, tHe LeAdEr. YoU sHoUlD hAvE sToPpEd HiM. hE bRoUgHt YoU iNtO tHe GaMe, BuT JaCk DiEd BeCaUse Of YoU._ ”

“He…”

“ _HiS bLoOd Is On YoUr HaNdS, nOt GaViN’s._ ”

“Mine?”

“ _YeS, YoU dIdN’t SaVe HiM! DiDn’T eVeN tRy!_ ”

“I…” he felt tears rise in his eyes, making his brain even more clouded. “Jack…”

“ _Is DeAd BeCaUsE oF yOu!_ ”

“Jack…”

“ _SaY iT!_ ”

“Jack’s dead…”

“ _SaY iT!!!!_ ”

“Jack’s dead because of me.” He utters, voice barely above a whisper. There was a soft giggle and he could have sworn he felt a hand brush against his shoulder. The touch was as light as a feather, yet they could still feel nails trace his shoulder like claws.

“ _GoOd BoY~_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really, sorry that this is so short after so long. The next chapter is written, just have to type it. Again, sorry, my exam started when I was half way done with the chapter and I just got overwhelmed! I'll do better next time!


	9. Head aches, Tiffany, and Darkness

It took a while, but Geoff eventually made his way back inside and into the living room where his friends were arguing. “Well, what are we suppose to do!? Just say hey, I want to go home now? This isn’t the Wizard of Oz, Gavin, we can’t click our red slippers three times saying ‘there’s no place like home’!” Michael yelled, hands thrown in the air in exasperation as Geoff enters the room.

“Well, just wandering aimlessly obviously doesn’t work!” Gavin snaps back, arms crossed tightly across his chest with and irritated scowl morphing his features.

“And sitting on our asses waiting for some demon to let us go is any better!?”

“Well yelling like a bunch of dickheads certainly isn’t helping.” Geoff calmly cuts in, arms loosely crossed as he makes his way to the center of the room. All eyes immediately latch on to his form and follow his movements with concern etched in their features. All, that is, except for Gavin, who huffs and glares at Geoff before storming over to the couch and plopping down next to Ray, who sends him a questioning look which he ignores.

“We’re just trying to figure out how to go home Geoff.” Ray explains tiredly, gently running and hand over his bandaged leg.

“And yelling’s going to make that process go any faster?” he asks, sending Michael a reproachful look.

“I mean, well…” Michael trails off lamely.

“Listen, obviously we don’t know what we're doing. So what do gamers do when they can’t figure out how to beat a game?”

“Cheat…” Ryan mutters thoughtfully while slowly nodding his head as he connects the dots. “So you think there’s some cheat sheet here that’ll tell us how to leave?” he asks, with a dubious look and an arched eyebrow.

“Do you have a better idea?” He snaps challengingly.

“I suppose not…”

“Okay then, now it will probably be quicker if we split up, but I do not want anyone by themselves. Do you understand? Don’t go anywhere without your partner.” Everyone silently nods their heads and Geoff turns to address Ray. “You want to help look or do you need a break?” Ray shakes his head determinedly.

“Who needs sleep? It’s overrated anyways, am I right? Besides, the quicker we get out of here, the quicker I can sleep somewhere that doesn’t smell like evil and death.” Geoff nods once then turns to address the rest of the group.

“Okay, then Ray and Ryan will be a group, look on this level.” Ray and Ryan exchange a single look and nod their heads in agreement. “Michael, you’ll partner with…” he waves his hand contemptuously towards Gavin, refusing to even acknowledge the Brit’s existence outside of pairing him up with Michael. The other three men exchange confused and worried glances with each other and Gavin can’t help but seethe on the couch.

“What about you then? Out of everyone, you should be paired with someone.” Gavin questions, squaring his shoulders and staring pointedly at Geoff, even though the other man refused to look at him.

“Shut up Gavin.” he growls lowly, jaw locking and fist clenching.

“No, I will not shut up!” He huffs, getting off the couch to stand in front of Geoff and force him to look at him. “You’re the most emotionally unstable, Michael should go with you!”

“I said shut up.” The blue of Geoff’s eyes started to darken, like a storm that rolls over a normally calm blue sea. Gavin would not back down though, and instead of doing as Geoff said he drew closer to the man, never once breaking eye contact.

“No! One of us is coming with you! No one should-”

“SHUT UP!” Geoff yells in his loud and commanding military voice that always made Gavin flinch. “I DO NOT NEED TO TAKE ORDERS FROM A FUCK UP LIKE YOU!” Tension suffocates the room in lull of Geoff’s outburst, all waiting hesitantly for Gavin’s response. When Gavin finally does open his mouth to speak it comes out soft, guarded, and directed towards Michael.

“Let’s go Michael, I think I saw a door next to the stairs, maybe it’s a basement or something.”

“Gavin,” Michael says softly, trying to sooth his friend by placing a reassuring hand on Gavin’s shoulder, but he simply shrugs it off.

“Let’s go Michael.” And then he storms out of the room without a single glance in Geoff’s direction, leaving Michael with nothing left to do but follow helplessly behind him.

“That was uncalled for Geoff.” Ryan reprimands, scowling at Geoff.

“Yeah, well, it’s true.” he growls, his back facing both Ryan and Ray while he clutched his head and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. His head ached and was growing fuzzy again, making it hard to concentrate on what Ryan was saying behind him.

“We both know that isn’t true. Gavin’s an idiot sometimes, but he’s not a fuck up.”

“Whatever…” he grumbles, trying his best to push through his throbbing headache.

“Geoff-”

“I don’t care!” He yells and turns on his heels toward the entrance of the room and starts moving towards it, never once removing his grip from his spinning head. “I’m going to go look in the bedrooms up stairs.”

“I don’t know Geoff, you don’t look so good. Maybe that isn’t such a good idea.” Ray suggest, his voice calm and placating despite being laced with evident worry.

“It’s a good idea if I say it is Ray.” He snaps and leaves the room only to hear them whispering secretly in his wake. He know’s what they’re saying. He’s the fuck up, not Gavin. He let Jack die, not Gavin. For the second time in however long it has been since the end of the funeral and now, Geoff finds himself wanting to apologize to Gavin, but something stops him. He does not consider himself to be a particularly stubborn man, nor a prideful one, but he refused to apologize to Gavin. He refused to admit he was wrong. He refused to give Gavin the satisfaction. So, with a spinning head and voices urging him to ignore whatever regret he harbored about Gavin, he squares his shoulders and treks up the stairs, not knowing what would await him there.

* * *

“Gavin-”

“Shut up.”

“But Gav…”

“Michael, I don’t want to talk about it.” Michael lets out a long sigh and shakes his head. There had indeed a door that lead to a dark and dusty basement. There were boxes stacked high all around the room, with old furniture covered in white sheets and tattered clothing that hung on sagging dressing rodes. Everything seemed to be covered in a liberal coating of dust as if this place hadn’t seen a soul in years and Gavin had to constantly convince himself that it was rats that were making the scratching sound against the cold concrete. He could hear the constant squeak of the floorboards and the pipes would rattle above them, imitating the days water would actually run through them. Gavin and Michael had both taken one side of the room, slowly opening up boxes to shit through moth eaten possessions. Neither of them had spoken until just now, both using the quite to sort through their thoughts.

“You know he doesn’t mean it.” Michael says as if Gavin hadn’t spoken. Michael was looking over at Gavin from his knelt position in front of a box filled with old clothing. “He’s just stressed, I mean, we just fucking lost Jack. Emotions are high right now, so-”

“Michael,” Gavin cuts him off, standing up from his own kneeling position in front of a box filled with various broken toys. “Geoff’s changing. When you all had left and we were outside he blamed me for Jack’s death. He said it was all my fault. So don’t tell me not to be upset!” Michael stands up as well, staring at Gavin in shock and disbelief.

“No way he said that.” He says with a small shake of his head. Gavin looks away trying to hide the hurt as the words Geoff yelled at him plays back in his mind.

It’s all your fault Gavin!

“He did,” Gavin snaps, fists clenching and unclenching at his side and his jaw stiff as he locks his eyes directly with Michaels. “He did, and it hurt, and I am worried Michael. I’m worried that Geoff is breaking. I’m worried he’ll get worse. I’m worried he’ll end up like...like…” he feels the words catch in his throat and he’s forced to break eye contact with his friend to will away the tears that were making his green eyes shine in the dim light of the single bulb that hung from the basement’s ceiling. He looks back at Michael, but seeing the same fear he felt mirrored on Michael’s features causes him to look down at his feet instead. Finally, Gavin takes a slow shuddering breath as he licks his lips and shrugs helplessly. “I’m worried he’ll end up like Jack, and I don’t want to lose anyone else.” Gavin hears a heavy sigh then Michael’s footsteps as he shuffles over to him.

“Gavin,” he says softly, gripping his friend firmly on the shoulders. “Look at me idiot.” Gavin hesitates, but eventually brings his eyes up to look at the other. “Nothings going to happen to anyone. Not Geoff, or Ray, or Ryan, or me, or even your dumbass. What happened was an accident, and it was horrible, but we’ve learned from that, and it won’t happen again.” He smiles at Gavin in what was suppose to be a reassuring manner but Gavin’s doubts still remained.

“How can you be sure,” he implores, brows furrowed together and stomach churning in worry.

“Because now we’re being careful. Everyone has a partner, so no one’s going to flip out and do something stupid because they’ll have someone at their side.”

“Geoff isn’t with anyone.” Gavin says softly, searching Michael’s eyes for anything to contradict the worry that was tearing him apart. He didn’t find it.

“He’ll be fine.” And Michael didn’t sound as confident as before. Gavin gives him a dubious look before sighing in resignation.

“You’re probably right,” Gavin concedes, shrugging off Michael’s hands and vigorously ruffling his own hair. “I’m just being dumb.” Michael laughs, quickly jumping on to the change in conversation.

“Well, you are pretty fucking stupid.”

“Oi!” Gavin squawks, though he was flashing Michael a goofy and lopsided grin, the knots in his stomach gone for the time being.

“Shut the hell up Gavin, you know its true.” Michael teases through his grin.

“But Micool!” Gavin whines, over emphasizing his accent to butcher the name.

“But Micool” Michael mocks, causing both boys to burst into laughter, both relishing the familiar comfort in the strange, dark, and dusty room they were in.

“Do you think we’ll ever find anything in all these boxes?” Gavin ponders as he turns in a circle to take in all of the room.

“We have to, I mean, look how many fucking boxes there are!” Gavin lets out a labored sigh and hangs his head.

“Lets get going then, the faster we find something, the faster we leave this hell hole.” They head back to their boxes, slowly shifting though each box, item by item. There was a large array of books, toys, and old clothing, all victims of age or moths. Gavin picks up an old porcelain doll whose face was partially broken and whose dress was faded a dingy yellow color. “God this place is creepy.” he grumbles as he carefully inspects the damaged doll.

“Shut up Gavin and stop being a baby.” Michael scolds while carefully turning the pages of a worn out book. Its binding hung by a string and its pages so faded it looked near impossible to read. Gavin sticks his tongue out at his friend when Michael turns to grab the next book from his box. Feeling somewhat satisfied with his childish antics, Gavin places the doll back in the box and moves on to the next one. He is about to open it when he feels a strong urge to look up, and when he does, his eyes instantly lock on to an old forgotten wooden chest in the corner of the room. Gavin stands and slowly makes his way towards it, in an almost entranced state. When he reaches the chest he can tell it was one that belonged to a young girl. It was of a dark oak wood with small flowers carved into a pattern around the boards. In the middle of the circle of flowers was the name “Margaret” chiseled in cursive. Gavin drops to his knees, eyes never leaving the chest, and runs his fingers gently across the name before opening it. The hinges of groaned in protest as he opened it and the lid banged loudly when it came into contact with the back of the chest. Inside, it was relatively empty, only an old teddy bear with matted fur and a missing eye, a old photo album, a diary, and an old jewelry box lay inside. Gavin picks up the photo album and begins to flip through it. The pictures were fading, like everything else they had found, and were in black and white. Most of the pictures were of a young girl around seven or eight. She was small and scrawny with long bone straight hair that framed her cheerful face and large eyes. From the photos gavin could tell the girl, which he now assumed was Margaret, was an energetic child as he seldomly found a picture with her sitting still. Gingerly putting the album back in the chest, Gavin picks up the jewelry box next. The little box seemed to be in better shape than the other objects in the room, its pink and yellow paint still vibrant albeit chipped in some places. On the top was a meticulousl painting of a ballerina  and draped above that, curved like a rainbow, was the same cursive scrawled name: Margaret. Upon closer inspection, Gavin found a small key hole, and when he attempts to open the box his suspicion is confirmed. It was locked. Huffing in annoyance Gavin carefully turns the box in his hands, staring intently at every crease in hopes of finding some way into it without potentially breaking the contents inside. It was while he had his nosed practically pressed to the small box that he felt a hand land heavily on his shoulder, making him jump and gasp.

“Calm down Gav, it’s only me.” Michael says as he squats down next to Gavin to peer inside the chest.

“Christ Michael, you scared the nobs out of me!” breathed Gavin,  clutching his chest in an attempt to calm his racing heart.

“I don’t know why, i’ve been caling your fucking name for the past five minutes.” Gavin frowns and shakes his head as he turns his attention back to the chest, then to the box still in his hand.

“Sorry, I was just looking through this and...I guess I was too distracted to hear you.” Michael takes the box from Gavin and turns it carelessly around in his hands a few times, causing Gavin to wince and scowl at him. “Careful with that you pleb, there might be something breakable in there.”

“doesn’t sound like it,” Michael shrugs, but stops fiddling with it nonetheless. “You find the key for it?” Gavin takes the box back and shakes his head, looking it over one more time before gently placing it back in the chest.

“No, and I can’t see anyplace that will be easy to break into unless we just break the while thing.” He decides to pick up the diary next. The book was binded in a worn, but sturdy, leather, and its only lock was a strap that buttoned to the front of the book. Gavin unbuttons the latch and opens the book to the first page. The first page is written in bold type font and read “This book is the property of” with a line underneath it. On the dotted line, much to Gavin’s surprise, was not the name Margaret but the large girlish hand writing of a girl name Tiffany Wright. Even more curious, under her name were two others” Kenny Blight and Sarah O'Neil. Gavin turned the page to see Tiffany’s neat cursive greeted him. He looked next to him to meet Michael’s eyes, hesitant to devil into anything from this place.

“Go on then,” Michael nudges Gavin’s shoulder and nods down at the book. “Read it, it might have something useful in it.” Gavin nods and, slowly, turns to look back down at the book. He swallows hard and clears his throat as he begins to read.

 

“ _August 3, 1921_

_Dear Diary,_

_I suppose I will can you that, Diary, I mean. I was so happy when I unwrapped my gift to see you. I will write everything down, severying. Starting with my fabulous sixteenth birthday. Everyone came, simply everyone. I felt so loved! Tom, our chef, baked this amazing cake, and it practically melted in my mouth it was so good. The rest of the night was filled with music and dancing. Daisy, my best friend, you’ll hear about her quite a lot Dairy, she is such a firecracker. Anyways, she got me this lovely little dress. It was gold and sequenced and comes just above the knees, along with the dress was a matching pair of gloves and I simply adored it, Daddy, however, about had a heart attack when he saw it. He told me that young ladies don’t wear such things, but it’s the fashion, and that leaves me with no choice but to wear it Diary. I got so many things today, all so marvelous. However, among all my goodies, I got the most peculiar present. It appeared to be a board game, from who, I am not sure, as it had no name and none of my guest claimed it as their own. The game itself was a foldable dark wood boarded and it was held closed by this old heavy metal latch. On top of the sides of the board it said “Everyone has a weakness” in this ugly black lettering, and I assume that must be the name of the game, though its quite an ugly name if you ask me. Honestly, I held a certain distaste for the thing but Daisy seemed thrilled to play, and it is oh so hard to tell her no. When I opened it a piece of paper fluttered out that was written in the same ugly scrawl. It said there was some demon in the game! Diary, isn’t that just the daftest thing you’ve ever heard? Well, after that I wanted nothing to do with the thing, but Daisy still begged to play, so I agreed to play tomorrow, as it’s far too late to play today. She plans on bringing her sheik Jason, as well as Carrie, Jackson, and his girlfriend Samantha. This all seems rather childish to me, but who knows, maybe it will be entertaining. I will let you know how the game went, Diary. Until then,_

_Adieu,_

_Tiffany_ ”

 

Gavin stops reading, hands shaking as he holds firmly onto the girls diary. He knows exactly how this is going to end for Tiffany and her friends, but didn’t want to finish reading her entries. He didn’t want to confirm what he already knew, but hoped beyond hope wasn’t true. “Should I keep going?” he asks so softly that he was surprised Michael even heard him.

“Yeah,” Michael replies just as softly, and it was obvious to Gavin in the way Michael’s voice wavered that he was hoping that they were wrong about the conclusion to Tiffany's story.”Yeah, just one more entry.” Gavin gives a curt nod before gingerly turning the page and reading the next entry.

“ _August 4, 1921_

_Diary,_

_I...I am not sure where we are. It had all started out just fine. They had all come to my house, and we gathered around the board in the parlor room. It was a beautifully sunny day, and the windows were opened wide to let the breeze swirl around us calmingly.We had gathered the pieces, each, strangely enough, held a strong likeness to us. There were no cards and the markings were too light and incomprehensible to read. The only distinct thing on the board was a button, and next to it was the word start. We all hesitated there. Diary, in that moment we all held the same apprehensive look. It was as if each and everyone felt it, the same uneasiness and the same wrongness of it all, and it was terrifying. Something nagged at me, it begged me to destroy the game. I am not sure if it was paranoia or foreshadowing, but, either way, Daisy had pressed the button before anyone could voice their fears. When I awoke not too long ago, it was dark...so, so, so dark. The darkness is too much, Diary, it screams of unknown terrors and makes me feel compressed and utterly vulnerable and I haven’t a clue why. I found a flashlight next to me, and it is by that light that I write to you. Daisy and the rest were all near me and woke up slowly, dazed, confused, and with lights of their own. I am worried Diary. I am worried that this is more than a game, more than just jovial fun, more than playing and going home. i am worried that  that will not be the conclusion of the game, going home that is. I am so dreadfully worried that something bad will happen and I will never see my family or my hope again. I will not say I am scared Diary, but it sure feels that way._

_Daisy says we should keep moving and try to get home. I will continue to write Diary, for I fear that soon you will be the only companion I will have left._

_I will pray,_

_Tiffany_

They stayed quiet for a long time, and after that, for a while more. Gavin knew his hands were trembling by the way the diary shook in his grasp. His chest felt tight, his mouth was dry, and his skin clammy and cold with sweat. There was something about reading entries from the dead that spooked the man. He knew she had died here without having to read the rest of her entries, and it was probably for the best, because any more of this and he might empty the contents of his stomach. Still, there was a sense of morbid curiosity that begged him to read the last entry. To read the moment Tiffany knew what he already knows, the moment she accepted her fate and her death, and the moment she wrote to her last companion, her last saving grace, her last strand of sanity. This is why, with shallow breaths and eyes firmly glued to the book in front of him, Gavin slowly turns to the last page that was filled with the large girlish letters that he had now identified as Tiffany's. This is why, with shaking  hands and a wavering voice, he began to read.

I do not know the date, nor the year. I do not know how many days have passed, or, if any have passed at all. I have lost my light long ago, but I have become so accustomed to this unholy darkness that I know what is around me, and I no longer need it. I am alone. The other’s all turned, having lost their minds and wills to live long ago. My arm aches and drips with my blood, caused by Daisy’’s plunge into insanity. I hope I don’t sully you with my incessant dripping, Diary. I…”

The words smeared and blurred here, by what Gavin assumes were once tears, and he is forced to squint in order to read the text.

_“I can say it now, Diary. I am scared. Oh, so very, very scared. I have never seen so much death and blood, and I know I will never see it again. Not out of choice, but because I will be long dead, and unable to see anything else ever again. What will happen to me when I die, Dairy? Will I go to Heaven or Hell? Will I simply cease to exist? Or will I continually relive this nightmare? Will I be forced to relive this gnawing fear and worry? Will I be forced to relive my friends’ death, to relive my death? I still hope that I will be sent to Heaven, but this is a godless place. This is a place even Lucifer fears. Diary, I am young and should be a naive and ignorant fool. I should be filling you with drivel of boys and clothes. I should not have to ponder death and fear and evil. There is so much evil here, and I feel it press down on me like an invisible weight that refused to ease._

_I am sorry._

_I am sorry to my family for leaving them._

_I am sorry to my friends for not protecting them._

_I am sorry to you, Diary, for leaving you alone._

_And I am sorry for you, Reader, for I assume that I am not the first and will not be the last to die in this horrible place. I am sorry you have to be here, to read this, I wish so desperately that you weren’t and were instead at home, safe and sound and loved, instead of hunted like a wild animal. What’s it like where you’re from Reader? I bet it’s marvelous, and you must miss it terrible, like I miss my home._

_Good bye Diary and goodby Reader. I send you my love and prayer and hope that you will be the outlier, that you will achieve what many failed._

_I have lived and loved and tried and now, I know, I must die._

_Goodbye,_

_Tiffany Anne Wright_

_1905-Unknown”_

* * *

 

Geoff had stumbled his way up the stairs, and into the nearest room. Glancing around he saw an adjoining bathroom and rushed into it, throwing himself at the toilet once inside and vomiting the little he had on his stomach. His head, it hurt so much. Lights flashed across his vision and he feels his body sway in his agony. His stomach churns again and he is forced to stick his head back into the porcelain bowl. There was a voice, so persistent and demanding. He could hardly hear it as it whispered to him. He strained against his headache, trying to hear the words, but it seemed that they continuously stopped short of his hearing. When Geoff feels that he can stand again, he makes his way onto shaky legs and moves to face the mirror. His skin was a deathly pale and dark bags hung in imitation of death. His eyes had an unusual dull quality to them as his eyelids dropped lower than they ever had before. His hair was wild and his clothes ruffled and ragged. In short, Geoff Ramsey was a mess. Once more Geoff winces and clutches his head as it throbs painfully.

“Fuck.” He mutters under his breath, unable to really enunciate further. After the moment of pain passes he softly shakes his head and turns on the tap. It groans in effort as water sluggishly pours from its head. After a moments hesitation at the yellow tinge of the water, he decides to throw caution to the wind and splashes the water on his face, making him feel marginally better. “I need to look for a way out of here.” He says to himself with a small nod before leaving the bathroom and exploring the room he was in. The room was fairly empty, with only a single twin bed devoid of sheets and a closet left slightly ajar. He makes his way sluggishly over to the closet and peaks in, only to see it completely empty. He growls and slams the door in frustration. They needed to leave, they had to leave, before things got worse then they already were. Before someone else loses their life. Before Geoff has more of his friends’ blood on his hands. He drags his feet as he leaves the room and makes his way out into the hall. He sighs as he looks down the corridor. Three rooms left to go. With slow labored steps Geoff heads to the next room but something stops him. This wasn’t right, none of this was right. This place, it just looked so...wrong. Geoff’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looks up and down the hall trying to pinpoint just what was off about the corridor. It seemed to have the proper number of doors, and the walls and ceiling seemed to be in the same state of disarray as he remembered from earlier. Yet something still nagged him. And then he looked down at the floor, it hit him. It was too quiet and too peaceful. As Geoff gazed down at the floor he realized the mood was all wrong for having Jack’s blood still stained into the floorboards right under his feet. Geoff stumbles back in shock and heaves. His stomach churned and his head ached as he stares at the large red stain on the floor, knowing, barely hours before, Jack’s body had been lying there, bleeding out and painting the ground under him with his blood. As Geoff stands there he can see it clearly. Jack muttering feverishly to himself, rearranging pictures as if it was his last job on earth. He remembered how desperate he felt as he tugged and pushed on the larger man, trying to pull him away. He remembered how stiff Jack was, like a statute. He remembered how cold Jack’s skin felt, like an ice block. He remembered how Gavin screamed, like he saw Death itself. And he remembered how Jack looked before he collapsed, like he had yet to process the hole in his chest.

And then Jack had looked at him and his heart tore and broke because there was nothing left he could do. Geoff was a strong man, he was an intelligent man, he was a military man, and because of this he knew when it was too late. He knew the moment he heard the loud bang of the shotgun that it was too late, that his friend was gone for. But he had denied it, even when Gavin had forced him to look he refused to believe it because this was a fucking game. All this was just a god damn game, and Jack shouldn’t have been wheezing for breath. Jack shouldn’t be painted red. And the world should not have been painted with so. much. red.

Geoff lets out a choked sob as he collapses to his knees. Slowly, he crawls over to the stain and gently touches it. To his mind, it still felt wet. Swallowing his sobs, he gently runs a hand along the stain. Tears blur his vision, but he can still see it. He can still see Jack choking on his own blood, he can still see clearly as Jack’s eyes slowly continue to dim until there was nothing left. No pain, no desperation, no fear, and no Jack.

“Jack…” Geoff croaks. “Jack i’m sorry. I...I tried buddy, you have to believe me, I tried, but I…”

“ _BuT yOu FaIlEd._ ” hums a voice behind him.

“I...I didn’t mean to...I didn’t think…”

“ _ThAt’S rIgHt, YoU dIdN’t ThInK. tHaT’s WhY hE’s DeAd._ ” Geoff didn’t answer, he couldn’t answer. The only thing that feels worse than someone blaming you, is when they’re right. He didn’t think, he didn’t take things seriously. He should have, he was suppose to. He wasn’t just Jack’s boss, he was his friend. He should have protected him. He should have tried harder. He failed him. He has failed him as a boss, as a colleague, and as a friend.

“I’m sorry…” he cries softly, tears soaking his face, but he can still see Jack. He can always still see Jack’s limp body and lifeless eyes.

“ _SoRrY dOeSn’T bRiNg HiM bAcK gEoFfErY._ ” The voice scolds harshly, the sharpness of the tone making him flinch.

“I know but…”

“ _He’S dEaD. ThErE’s No BuT AbOuT iT. LoOk, GeOfF, lOoK aT wHaT yOu DiD._ ” And he did look, because that seemed all he was capable of doing. Looking, and watching, and trying, but never succeeding. Never helping. Never saving his friends. He can plan, and organize, and boss his friends all he likes, but he can’t save them. He can’t protect them. Who was next after Jack? Ryan? Ray? Michael? God, what if it was Gavin? He has been so cruel to him. It had never occurred to him, all this time he was blaming and cursing Gavin, that at any moment he could lose him. He could lose him just like he lost Jack, but the difference is, when he lost Gavin, he would die thinking that Geoff hated him. He would die thinking that Geoff blamed this whole mess on him, and that Geoff thought that it was all Gavin’s fault.  

But that wasn’t the truth. He didn’t blame Gavin, not really. God, he was such an awful person. His friend died and this is what he turns into? An asshole that talked to the guy he had accepted as family like he was trash?

He hated himself.

He despised himself.

He should be the one to die. Not Jack, not Gavin, and not anyone else. Why was he still alive? Why wasn’t it him?

“Jack...Jack…” he sobs softly, scratching at the floorboards as if that would bring him back. “Why?”

“ThAt’S a GoOd QuEsTiOn, IsN’t It.” Snarks the voice. “WhO gAvE yOu ThE rIgHt?”

Why was he alive?

Why was it Jack instead of him?

Why can’t he just protect his friends like he was suppose to?

Why can’t they all just go home?

Why did his head hurt so god damn much?

Why was it so cold?

When had the world gone dark?

* * *

There hadn't been much said after that. Michael had told Gavin to grab the chest, and after putting the diary back and closing it shut, that’s what he did. Wordlessly, they made their way upstairs and back into the living room which had somehow managed to become their base of operation. Ryan and Ray were already there. Ray was lounging on the couch, taking deep breaths and sweating profusely while Ryan sat wearily next to him, gently patting Ray’s shoulder  and massaging his temple tiredly. Gavin and Michael set down the chest with a thud, drawing the other’s attention.

“What’s that?” Ryan asks as he leaves Ray’s side in favor of crouching in front of the chest and examining it. He hums softly in interest as his fingers run across the name before opening the chest and rifling through its contents like Gavin had done earlier.

“I found it in the basement.” Gavin explains, biting his nail distractedly as he watches Ryan. The words he had just read were still whirling around in his head, forcing an image of the young girl stuck and crouched somewhere in those woods all alone, and with the knowledge of her imminent death lurking before her like a sore thumb. The images haunted Gavin and caused his heart to ache in empathy, knowing the fear of death lurking around every corner, just waiting for one small lapse in judgment to strike. Gavin’s mind is ripped away from those images as Michael speaks.

“We can’t open the box, it needs a key.” Michael informs Ryan as said man picks up the box and examens it himself.

“Unless we crack it…” he murmurs, but shakes his head in defeat. “But then we might break what’s inside it, and we might need its contents.

“What else is in there?” Ray asks from the couch. He carefully sits up, trying his best not to shift his leg, but ends up wincing slightly.

“Some teddy bear,” Gavin replies, barely glancing at the chest. “The jewelry box, a photo album, and a diary. Most of it belongs some bird named Margaret.” Ray frowns, doubt beginning to seep into his weary brown eyes.

“So, anything useful?” He asks in a pessimistic voice.

“Yeah, actually. We think we found something that can help us.” Michael nods, bending down and taking the diary. “Like Gavin said, most of this stuff is Margaret’s, but this isn’t. It belonged to three different people. We already read the first girl’s entries and she…” Michael trailed off, looking down at the book in his hand then over to Gavin who held a similar solemn expression.

“Let’s just say she was in the same boat as us.” Gavin finishes for him.

“Do you think it could have something about how to get us out of here?” Ryan asks as he stands up and folds his arms over his chest. Gavin looks between both he and Ray, both sharing a look of tentative hope mixed with a burdening amount of doubt.

“I don’t know, but there’s only one way to find out.” He says, motioning for Michael to hand him the book, which he does. Then, with a steadying breath, he flips open the diary to the next set of entries, and begins to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Geoff's part seemed rushed, i tried my best. I forgot to add it when I wrote it the first time so I had to squeeze it into the final draft.
> 
> Either way, hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	10. Diary Entries

_March 20, 1975_

_Kenny Blight_

_I found this Diary, and I’m not really sure what to do with it. There’s some pretty heavy stuff in here man, like, really heavy. It makes the mood of this place even spookier! I wonder if its real or if Jackson just got me some bad pills. Seems pretty real though. I think I’m going to do what this Tiffany bunny did and write. Man, if I am just tripping its going to be coolie to reread!_

_Peace out!_

_March 21, 1975_

_I don’t know how days work here, like, it’s always so dark here, like, majorly dark, and it’s all really confusing. So, because it’s so dark and all, Every time I go to sleep will be a new day, okay bro? I guess I should say what we did yesterday, right? That seems like the right thing to do. Basically we wandered around these woods forever. We have these flashlights, right, and so we had that to see with, but it wasn’t any help. We ended up just sleeping up against some trees, kind of like what we’re doing now, you know, why I’m writing. So far this place is totally square. There’s nothing but trees and darkness, what kind of game is that? I don’t know what that bunny was talking about in her entries. Whatever man, I’m tired from all this wandering, I’m hitting the hay._

_Peace Out!_

_March 22, 1975_

_I was thinking, I should probably talk about who I’m here with, huh? In case someone finds this? Or maybe I can make this a book when we get out of here! How killer would that be? So yeah, first there’s Timothy, he’s rad, but he’s always protesting about something, and I’m all for it, but a dudes got to take a break from fighting the power every once in a while, right? And then there’s Stacie, who’s a pretty chill chick. I think she’s going with Owen, but whenever I ask they just ignore me, which is pretty lame, but you know. She’s also crazy smart, and sometimes I’m confused why she hangs with us, but she’s funny, so that’s all that matters. Next is Greg, and he makes the best brownies, though I wouldn’t give them to you grandma, if you know what I mean. He’s the opposite of Tim, he is so laid back that sometimes I question if he’s even breathing. I wish to reach that level of chill. Finally there’s Owen. Owen is my best bro. I’ve known him since we were kids, man. He can be kind of lame occasionally, but he’s still pretty relaxed, especially when he sits back and has one of Greg’s brownies with me. So far he’s been the “leader” of this game, which is completely bogus, but sometimes it’s easier just to go with it then fight it, you know? If I had to choose anyone to boss me around I’m glad it’s Owen, anyone else would have just been annoying. Man, speaking of annoying, it looks like our break is over. I have to go, maybe I’ll write more tonight...or before bed. Man, it’s way too dark here._

_Peace out!_

_March 22, 1975_

_We walked way longer than we normally do today. It was lame, but apparently it’ll be useful in the long run? Stacie’s words, not mine. I don’t know how we’re making any progress man, we can’t see crap! How do they know where we’re going?? I’m just going to let them lead, no use in getting bent out of shape, right? Speaking of bent out of shape, Tim seems to be more fidgety than usual, like he got a bad batch of something. I asked if he was cool, and he flipped out on me, saying things like “you’re a sheep” and “how can you just go along with what the man says, man! I thought you were better than that.” and I was like, I am bro, I never go along with the man, you know that. But he kept ranting, saying how we’re just walking in circles like the useless brainwashed sheep we were. At this point the others noticed him tripping and asked what was wrong, and he gave Owen this really shitty look, and was like “you man, your what’s wrong, you’re bringing us all down”. Which is totally crazy, I mean, it’s not like any of us know what the hell is going on, so it only makes sense to follow Owen’s lead. But no, Tim was having none of it, and him and Owen got into this huge, like, argument, man. Like it was crazy, man. Stacie eventually had to get everyone to just calm down and we decided it was best to rest, you know? So now, we’re all resting against a tree, and Tim and Owen are far a part. Actually, I’m sitting next to Tim right now, in case he flips out again. Man, it’s gotten really cold all of a sudden. It was warm a few seconds ago, but then Tim sat down and...man. Oh well, I can deal. Hopefully a rest will calm everyone down. If not, maybe Greg has some brownies with him, that would be great._

_Peace Out_

_March 23,_

_Tim is still wigging out, but it’s more just mutterings now, so we’re ignoring him. In a turn of events we’ve found a playground pretty friggin scary, quite honestly. Everything was old and rusting, like out of a horror movie man. Gave me the jibbies. There wasn’t much on the playground itself, pretty basic set: a swingset, mary-go-round, and a slide. Owen pushed the mary-go-round and it let out the loudest creak sound, like it was about to fall to pieces. At that point everyone was fairly freaked out, even Greg and nothing spooks him, so we decided to put 12 feet between us. Wackiest thing, and I don’t want anyone to think jive turkey or whatever, but I swear I saw some girl. I shined my light over there, but there wasn’t anyone there, so I just ignored it. I don’t know, man, this place is starting to freak me out a little. I kinda just want to go home now, hopefully we’ll find a way out soon._

_Peace out._

__  
  


_March 25,_

_I did see a person. It’s been two “days” or whatever I’m marking as days, you know, since I last wrote in here. I was...too busy to write. But man, I saw her again today. She appeared in front of me, like, right in front of me. She smiled at me with this creepy fucking smile that would be sweet as honey on anyone else, but on her it was off and unsettling. She had this birds nest of black hair and creepy eyes. And man, she reminded me like a tv, you know when you lose signal and you have to wiggle the ol’ bunny ears around? She tilted her head to the side and it was this real jerky movement, you know? Like it almost skipped, man, I don’t know how to explain it but it was freaky. So, of course, I screamed, because i’m pretty sure i’ve seen her in a horror movie Owen made me watch once, and the everyone turns around to look at me and sees her and freaks and starts running, so I skirt around her to follow them. It’s weird, though, because she didn’t even try to grab me, just kind of watched me, her body never moving with her head to do a complete 360 too. So yeah, i’m running and everyone’s yelling...but Tim. And I turn around and jerk Tim’s arm because, you know, scary static bunny, but he doesn’t move. And so I yell to him, right in his ear, and he finally comes to his senses and follows me but it’s way more reluctant and slow than it should have been. I don’t know man, that kid’s got me worried. He needs to seriously snap out of it. I’ll try to keep you posted._

_Peace Out._

__  
  


_March 27?_

_Everything’s gone to hell man. I’m not sure where to start, but let’s go with Tim. He’s disappeared. He started spouting some crazy protester shit and getting all close and personal with Owen. He was saying some pretty awful things I didn’t even know he was capable of. Owen took it in stride though, telling him to calm down, that he didn’t mean it, and that we were all a little tensed, which was true. But Tim wouldn’t stop, and then he started spitting and clawing at Owen and me and Greg had to hold him back. Next thing we knew he wiggled out of our grip, told us that we were “all going to die a slow and painful death like the sheep you are” and he bolted. He was sick man, real sick. When I grabbed him everything about him was so cold, and his eyes were glazed over, he was sick._

_...shortly after Greg started acting funny too. Not as crazy as Tim or all that jazz but still, really not like himself. He was muttering to himself a bunch and twitching, like he was having arguments with himself. I asked Stacie if she knew what was wrong with him, if we should do something, you know? She said as long as he’s not being aggressive like Tim we should let him be. I’m not so sure. He keeps scratching at his head, like he’s in withdrawal or something, and keeps complaining about being cold. It’s been a while since he’s smoked any, so maybe that’s it._

_I’m not so sure._

_Later Days man_

_March 28? or maybe 29?_

_I haven’t been counting...I…_

_Greg’s dead. He tweaked out and ran off ahead of us. We traced after him and, when we found him, he was shoving these mushrooms in his mouth all sweaty and crying. Stacie freaked and ran to grab the ‘shrooms out of his hands but he kind of just knocks her to the side. She starts yelling for him to stop, and we kind of join in, because Greg looks like he got bent or something. He doesn’t listen and finally Owen goes over and socks him one and that gets him to stop. He kinda just looks at us then. He goes...god...I remember it clearly, he goes:_

_“ I…” and he vomits real badly there. “I can’t see, everything’s all blurry. What’s going on, why do I feel so sick?” And Stacie is crying and uses this soft voice and goes:_

_“You’ve just eaten a large amount of Clitocybe and Amanita, they’re a poisonous mushrooms. I...we don’t have the proper tools to flush you out.” He blinks at her and vomits again, and then he goes:_

_“But i’ll be fine, right?” And Greg, oh man, he sounded so scared. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound so scared. And Stacie is just balling but her voice is as calm as ever and she just shakes her head man._

_“Normally it takes a while after ingestion, but, it may work differently here. After a while you’ll...fall asleep, a coma actually and you’ll...you’ll never wake up.” And now Greg’s crying and he’s still covered in vomit and still puking his guts out like that would get those damn ‘shrooms out of his stomach and it’s awful man. So Owen stands up, and his voice isn’t even close to the level of calm Stacie has, but he goes:_

_“Well, we still have a little while before that happens, right? Maybe if we get out of here the results will be reversed or something, or at the very least we can get him to a doctor.” And Stacie just gives him a look but man, what else to we have? So we wander and wander and eventually Greg starts slowing down until finally he kinda just stops and sits down with his back propped up against this big ol’ tree and we all kinda just looked at eachother and then sat down with him. It was...it was…_

_It was awful man. He was still puking and sweating but he kinda just leaned back and stared up at what I guess is the sky, but its way too dark to be a sky man. And he just starts rambling, about his family, about things he did with his brother and kid sister, about teachers he’d pissed off, about girls he thought were swell. He just kept rambling and we all just nodded until he just kind of trailed off and fell asleep. And we stayed there and sat and watched until he was dead. And it’s weird, because you can’t really tell the difference between when he was just sleeping and when he died other than his chest doesn’t rise and fall any more. Stacie checked his pulse to be sure and…_

_I just want to go home._

_March 30ish,_

_We saw her again today. I tried to kill her, hit her, anything. It was her fault that Greg died, I know it was. Owen held me back and dragged me away. Said there was no use wasting my life._

_Tim is still missing, I thought I heard a bush rustling but when I called out no one answered, so I don’t know._

_Still haven’t found a way home yet._

_March 35ish,_

_Stacie is too caring, too motherly. She heard a noise, and was convinced it was Tim because that thing doesn’t make noise when it moves so she goes barreling ahead, trying to get to him. We find her hung on a tree branch, eyes dead. Owen breaks down. I worry I’m not the one who will need to be held back next time we see that monster._

_Is there a point to these dates anymore?_

_Owen is devastated, i’ve taken control of our now two man group. I try to cheer him up. I try to tell him this isn’t real. There’s no way this can be real. She’s alive and well. He doesn’t believe me. I don’t believe me. He’s deteriorating and reminds me of a zombie or something. I just want things back to how they used to be. When Owen and I were brothers, when Stacie was there to be smart and to light Owen’s fire, when Greg gave us brownies, and Tim gave us things to be upset about. I don’t even remember half the crap we were fighting for anymore. It all seems so small. Maybe we can get home soon._

_Whenever, what does it matter,_

_He ran at her, and I tried to hold him back, but he’s always been the stronger one. He was so cold when I grabbed him and his eyes were dead._

_They reminded me of Stacie’s._

_He ran and I shouted and then there was blood and he wasn’t one person anymore man. She split him in half and I...I didn’t know what to do...I just ran_

_I ran, and I ran, and I ran, and I could hear her laughing now matter how far away I got._

_I found this house, and I’m holed up in here and I...I’m crying and why did he have to die? Why did they all have to die? I just...it isn’t fair, none of this is fair! What did we ever do to anyone?_

_I think I hear something outside the house...i’m going to hide in one of the rooms upstairs...I’ll keep you updated._

_Not too long after the last time,_

_Whatever it is, its in the house. I guess it’s my turn now, you know? So I guess I should write it out, say what my dying thoughts are._

_That girl before me was right, there is something evil here and this place is dangerous. It...it turns people into things that they aren’t and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. That bitch will come, and where she goes she leaves a trail of blood._

_I hear...a voice near where i’m hiding (in a closet in one of the bedrooms). It sounds familiar...almost like…_

_Tim?_

_Of course it’s him, it makes sense. I wonder what will happen to him once I’m gone. Hopefully nothing too bad, he’s not a bad dude, that Tim. I don’t want him to get hurt._

_Listen, man, don’t underestimate this place, you know? I did, and look what happened to me. Take this seriously. Work hard. Beat her._

_…_

_I hear him in the room, guess my time’s up man._

_Good luck brother._

_Peace out!_

 

 


	11. A Small Drink to Calm the Nerves

_Entry One_

_I am going to keep this short, sweet and to the point. I am going to label my Entries as you see above because it’s irrelevant what time period this is. It is also irrelevant who I am here with and how I got here, though I will say that, including me, there are five of us. This will be completely factual. There is no need to go into me, or my time here, this portion of the diary will be filled with nothing but information I find out about this place that will be beneficial in the future, either to me or to whoever finds this. First order of business, the victims. I haven’t been here that long to experience this personally yet, but from what I can gather from the last two people is that the area around the victim turns cold. The victim themselves appeared to be zombified and glazed eyes, maybe hypnosis or mind control? It seems near impossible to break this trance. More on this as it develops._

_Sara O'Neil_

 

After Gavin finished Kenny’s entries he slowly closes the book, swallowing hard. Kenny’s was the second group of people that he knew of that had came here and was ultimately picked off one by one. What did that mean for their group? It had already begun, hadn't it? Jack had already  died his own gruesome death, which one of them will suffer a similar fate next? was there really no way out of here? Were they really all destined to die at the hands of each other or even themselves? When Gavin looks up at his friends all their expressions mirror his. Scared, unsure, and pissed. This thing, this monster, has gathered all these people, in some cases children, and killed them, and now she was trying to do the same thing to them. She was trying to force their hands, to turn them into killers so she wouldn’t get dirty herself. No, he refused to let that happen to them. Refused to let them be another set of victims, let them be another set of statistics for this hell hole.

“ We can’t end up like them.” He says quietly, firmly. They can’t, they just can’t.

He couldn’t take it.

“I agree, fuck that bitch. We aren’t going to play into her hands again.” Michael adds, nodding his head vehemently.

“True, but we’ll have to be closer than ever.” Ryan notes thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “You know, keep an eye on each other...so we don’t...crack.”

“You mean go bat shit insane and either kill ourselves or someone else?” Ray asks warily, a shaky smile on his lips. Ryan laughs dryly and nods.

“ Speaking of weird behavior…” Gavin frowns, looking around the room in confusion. “Where’s Geoff?”

* * *

 

He had stumbled down the stairs, not really aware of where his legs were taking him. All he knew was that he needed a _DrInK_. He passed by the living room, hearing hushed and familiar voices. He wanted to call out to them, to say he was sorry, to beg for their forgiveness, for his forgiveness. But he could hear them _WhIsPeRiNg_. He knows, he   _KnOwS_ that they’re talking about him, bemoaning him. They know how _UsElEsS_ he is. They know that Jack’s blood is on _HiS hAnDs_. And that’s why he keeps walking. That’s why he clenches his hands into fists and squares his shoulders and he might have been lying if he said that when he glanced into the room his heart hurt. He drags his feet down the hall, not processing what he was seeing, his mind too blank to work. Why did things _EnD uP lIkE tHiS_? Why did Jack have to _DiE_? The words were sour on his tongue and made his throat burn. He doesn’t process his hand gripping the door knob to the dining room. It didn’t process the dark room or the squeaky floor boards as he moved towards the kitchen, it didn’t even process him pushing the door open to the kitchen until the stark contrast between light and dark burned his eyes and was forced him to instantly wince. He looks around the room, blinking owlishly. Why had his feet brought him here? His eyes wander over to the back door that lead to the back yard. He was tempted to go out there to look at the grave. To say sorry and hope the man can hear the sincerity in his voice from the afterlife or where ever his soul went to. But his body was too stiff, and his legs refused to move and all he was left to do was blink off the tears and swallow the burning lump in his throat.

_I nEeD a DrInK._

The thought comes suddenly and without warning, but he finds that he couldn’t agree more. He begins ransacking the cabinets  opening them roughly with little care to their fragile state, subsequently breaking a few in the process, pushing on until he hears a voice buzz harmlessly in his ear.

_UnDeR tHe SiNk._

Slowly Geoff’s head turns to the mentioned area and it was like all his wires finally connect. Yes, of course it was there. Why would it be anywhere else? He quickly makes his way over to the sink and drops to his knees in order to open and peer through the cabinet. There were various other bottles of different liquors and age, but none of them seem to stand out to him. He pulls the bottles out, muttering fiercely to himself words he doesn’t understand. Finally his hand wraps around a bottle, and he knows that _ThIs Is It_. He snatches it and holds it close to his chest. Breath ragged and body shaking. He wasn’t sure what had left him in this state but having the bottle clutched closely to his body seems to have inexplicably calmed him down. Taking a slow steadying breath Geoff evens his breathing. Slowly he holds the bottle out in front of him to examine it. The liquid is in a clear glass container, and upon further examination he can’t find a label on it, but he finds he doesn’t care. He quickly shoots up, knocking over the bottles that he has crowded around him, then making a loud clattering sound as they bumped against each other and fall to the floor. After shifting through a few of the higher cabinets and finding a glass he heads back towards  the dining room door, kicking bottles into cabinets in the process and breaking them. Geoff doesn’t even flinch, just keeps on until he pushes through the door, strides over to the the old wooden table in the center of the room and takes a seat, the chair groaning loudly in protest. He opens the bottle and tosses the cap carelessly behind him. He takes a sniff of the mysterious clear liquid, but when he smells nothing he shrugs and throws his head back as he takes a large gulp of the substance. The liquid burns going down his throat, worse than any burn he’s felt before.

But that was _OkAy_.

_He LiKeD iT._

The drink sat heavily on his stomach and he has to pause but he brings the glass he brought over to him and this time pours himself a large glass and begins to chug that down. He repeats this process several more times.

Drink. Pause. Pour. Repeat.

Over and over again until the bottle half empty and his face was wet with tears, his mouth ached, and his throat burned raw. He wondered how Jack felt when he was rearranging those pictures, what had possessed him to the point he could hardly think straight,  hardly even speak. He wondered how much pain he felt that hole in his chest. He knew it hurt, it had to hurt, there wasn’t supposed to be big ass shot gun hole in his chest. Why hadn’t he been strong enough to move him. Jack was a larger man, but he still should have been able to move him, to help him, to _SaVe HiM_. He wondered how Gavin felt, when he forced the burden of Jack’s death on to his shoulders. He knew how unfair that was, knew how untrue that was. God, why was he such an asshole? Why was he cracking under this pressure? It just isn’t like him.

Why was he so fucking _UsElEsS_!?

He chucks his glass hard at the wall across from him, finding a small amount of comfort as the sound of breaking glass echos around him. He doesn’t notice how the remaining contents of the glass sizzled and burned the bits of wood it touched. Instead he focused on the unmarked bottle in front of him.

Drink. Pause. _RePeAt_.

* * *

Gavin’s words had sent everyone into a fit. Michael curses as he pokes his head into the hall, as if he expects Geoff to be lurking around the corner. Ray jumps to his feet, momentarily forgetting his injured leg and crying out in paid, causing Ryan to run over to him and catch him before he collapses from the pain. Gavin went stiff from the realization, clutching the book so tightly that his knuckles turn white. According to the diary, that wasn’t Geoff, or at least, not the Geoff they knew. She was messing with his brain, twisting and turning it into something he wasn’t. He needs to help. He needs to find him before it’s too late. He needs to save him before he turns out like Jack.

“We…” before he could even voice this the sound of bottle falling and crashing to the ground reach their ears. All of their heads snap in the same direction. “The kitchen.” he breathes and runs out the room and down the hall where he knew the door to the dining room, and by default the kitchen, would be. He could hear the others behind him, but he ignored them. Geoff was in trouble. He was about to do something stupid and dangerous and he wasn’t about to lose another friend. However, to his dismay, the large double doors that lead to the dining room had vanished and been replaced by a blank expanse of chipped wall. Gavin shakes his head slowly, feeling his heart beat erratically as the panic inside him began to crawl its way to the surface. “No…” he whispers, bringing his shaky hands to rub the wall, searching for any sign of the doors that he knew were there moments before. “No!” he says again, louder as he runs up and down the hall, running his hands along it in some places, banging it in others. He knows this is where the kitchen was, he had to pass in in order to go to and from the basement. They were right **here**. But then...they weren’t now, so where had they gone? It wasn’t until he was back at the originally spot, closely examining the wall in front of him did he realize was going on.

It was **Her**.

She had barricaded Geoff away from them, locked him in this imaginary cell and they didn’t have the keys. She wasn’t going to let him out until he was a lost cause, until they could do nothing to save him.

“ _Very observant, GaVy~_ ” giggles her awful voice next to his ear...or was it behind him...No, it was all around him. He growls and bangs at the wall with clenched fist.

“Let me in god damn it! You can’t do this! You can’t...you can’t…” his voice trails off and is replaced by his fist hitting harder against the wall in a way that could only lead to a broken bone. He hardly register the strong hand on his shoulder.

“Gavin, what’s going on?” came Ryan’s calming and concerned voice behind him. He turns around to see Ryan with a worried expression written across his face. Michael and Ray were behind him, Ray lying against Michael and both sharing matching looks of concern and confusion.

“The door, it should be here!” he gestures frantically behind himself. “But...but She....” He and Ryan make brief eye contact and gavin prays that Ryan doesn't call him crazy or suggest that he’s mistaken. And, to his relief, he doesn’t, instead he nods his head once before stepping beside him and running his hands all over the wall.

“There has to be something, right? Doors can’t just disappear completely, that’s not physically possible.” Gavin turns to face the wall and takes a step back to give Ryan more room to work.

“It’s no use, I’ve checked and couldn’t find anything. It’s just...gone.” Ryan shakes his head again, a small line creasing his forehead as he frowns.

“It’s **impossible**.” he stresses. “It’s just impossible.”

“Then why isn’t it there?” Michael frowns from his spot supporting Ray. Ryan takes a step back from the door, looking it up and down as if confirming something before responding.

“She’s messing with us.” he declares, briefly glancing at them before refocusing his analytical gaze at the wall. “You can’t just mess with physics like that. She’s tampering with our minds to make us see what she wants us to see, but the door itself is still there.”

“Then how do we get her to stop? How do we get the door back or whatever?” Ray asks, voice strained as he shifts slightly against Michael.

“I...I don’t know.” Ryan answers meekly, shoulder slumped him defeat. But that wasn’t the right answer. Gavin refused to take that as an answer. He nudged Ryan to the side so he could stand directly where he knew the door was. He had to get in there, he had to save Geoff.

_‘The door is here. The door is here.’_

He couldn’t just stand by knowing Geoff was doing God knows what to himself.

_‘The door is here. I know it is, I’ve seen it.’_

Geoff might be angry with him right now, he might blame him for everything that’s happened, but damn it, Geoff was still his friend and he wasn't about to let him die.

' _It was large and oak. It was double doors, the kind with the handle bar door knobs you have to pull to open.’_

He had to save Geoff, he couldn’t just stand here. He had to do something...anything.

_‘The doors are old as nobs, all splintery. They probably haven’t been cared for in centuries.’_

“Gav..” came Michael’s voice behind him, and even though he was sure the other man was with in touching distance of himself the voice still felt miles away. He was too focused on the doors that should be in front of him to bother with him, with any of them. He needs to remember, has to remember.

_‘They creak when you open them, like in horror movies, and I was afraid they fall off their hinges when I touched them.’_

Geoff. He was to save Geoff. Has to get to him. Has to stop him. He has to stop Her, and what she’s doing to him.

_‘But they were right here, right here, right where I’m standing. They were here when I was exploring, they were here when I had to carry Jack out to his grave, and they are here NOW!’_

He knows they are, they have to be. For Geoff’s life, for his own sanity, he knows for a fact they were right here!

The crash of glass being thrown against a wall startles them so much they hardly notice two oak doors that had seemingly materialized out of no where.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back bitches! Since its been for freaking ever I decided to upload two chapters this time 'round. Sorry again for the obnoxious wait, it won't be nearly as long for the next chapter!


	12. Can you hold your liquor?

_Entry Two_

_It seems that everything here is susceptible to illusions. Nothing here is as it appears, and, in theory, you can possibly change it back to the way it is suppose to be. From what I can tell her only power is to tamper with our minds and, as such, we should be able to tamper right back. What I’m saying is, just because something doesn’t appear to be there doesn’t mean it isn’t there. That doesn’t sound very coherent to me, but I hope you understand what I’m saying._

_More on the victims. She seems to amplify negative traits or qualities a person possesses and use them against them. For example, one of the other five people here ended up being controlled by her. Now, he was very socially anxious and needed occasional reassurance of his place in our group of friends. It never bothered us, and it he seemed to be improving as he requested our reassurance less and less, but not to long after entering the game his anxieties seemed to flare up again. This was understandable, as we were in a high stress situation none of us were used to, but it became steadily worse and he became more and more frightened that he was useless to us, that he was a burden to us, despite how often we told him otherwise. This friend eventually took his life in a way I will not state here, but upon reading into the entries before mine it seems that my theory before was confirmed. Though, as an outlier, there is also the option of fighting Her, which seemed to prove pointless. So I advise you to keep an eye on your companions for any sudden emphasis on their bad qualities._

_Finally, I found a jewelry box not too long ago. The contents are locked inside which leads me to believe its important, so I will be looking for the key as we journey. I advise, if you find this box, to keep it close at hand, in case I fail at finding said key, that way you can perhaps read its contents._

_Sara O'Neil_

Gavin’s hands shake and he tries to swallow the burning lump in his throat all to no avail.

“You think that was Geoff?” Michael asks quietly, shifting restlessly behind Gavin.

“You think he’s okay?” Ray asks, voice just as soft.

“I don’t know…” Ryan voice rumbles next to Gavin. Gavin himself was staring solely at the door knob in front of him. Where it had come from, he doesn’t know; all that matters is that its there now and he can get to Geoff.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Gavin says, and, after a long steadying breath, he opens the door.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he opened the door. maybe Her leering over Geoff’s dead body with her awful sharp toothed crooked grin. Maybe he expected to see red, splashed against the walls and coloring the floorboards. Maybe he even expected to see Geoff waiting for them with a weapon, ready to take them out with a hand that surely wasn't his own. Whatever it was, he wasn’t expecting to see Geoff slouched at a table, his forehead rested in his hands and a practically empty bottle of something at his side. And it was this image and the lack of red, of bloodshed, of grotesque, that made Gavin hesitate and look back at his friends uncertainty instead of rushing to Geoff’s side like he intended to.

He meets Ryan’s eyes and, when he is met with a reassuring nod,  he steps further into the room, allowing the others to enter as well.

“Geoff?” Gavin calls out, worry heavily laced in his voice. “A-are you alright?” Geoff looks up at him and as their eyes meet Gavin’s heart drops. Geoff’s eyes looked dead. Their normal bright light was now dull and dimmed and even as he looks at Gavin they seemed distant and vacant, as if the Geoff they knew was long gone.

But that can’t be true.

It just can’t.

“Geoff.” Gavin breaths, voice strained as he continues to stare into those vacant eyes.

“Gavin?” Geoff’s voice was hoarse and rough, as if it had been torn to shreds. “Gavin…” he says again, the wheels in his head visibly turning as Geoff seemed to be working his way through the fog that had managed to cloud his mind.

“Yeah Geoff, it’s me.” Gavin replies desperately. All he wants is to see Geoff back to his old self, to see some semblance of clarity in his blue eyes, and not this shell  that sat broken in front of him. “It’s Gavin, and Michael, and Ray,and Ryan. We’re all here.” he adds, motioning behind him,

“Gavin,” it was Ryan’s voice that called his name this time. “look at this.” Gavin turns to see what Ryan was talking about to see small holes burnt into the wood, surrounded by the glass that he assumes made the noise earlier.

“What is…”

“Gavin!” Geoff’s voice cracks, drawing his attention back to the man. The vacant quality of his eyes was slowly seeping out and was being replaced with pain and regret, which, honestly, was far worse. “Gavin...I…” Geoff chokes then is thrown into a violent coughing fit, causing red to shoot from his mouth and trail down his chin.

“What’s going on Geoff.” Ryan asks calmly, hands out in a placating manner as he moves to stand beside Gavin. “What have you been drinking? What did you do?” Geoff looks at the bottle then back to Ryan helplessly.

“It burns” was his only response, his voice small and broken like a sick child’s. Ryan and Gavin exchange looks before Ryan takes another step further, motioning in the bottles direction as he talks.

“Can I take a look?” Geoff shakes his head rapidly and grabs the bottle to clutch close to his chest.

“No,” he gurgles. “No, I…” he coughs some more, more blood spraying across the table in the process. The reaction makes Ryan stop, the man obviously trying to think of a way to get the bottle away from Geoff.

“Come on buddy,” Ryan tries again, voice slow and sweet as if soothing a child. “I think you’ve had enough for today, don’t you?” Again, Geoff shakes his head.

“No. I need...I can’t…” he shakes his head for a third time, clutching the bottle tighter.

“Geoff,” It was Gavin’s turn to try. “Geoff, come on. Let it go. Let’s get out of here.” He takes larger steps, trying to get closer to the delirious man in front of him.

“NO! STOP!” His voice is loud this time, and ragged and desperate with each step Gavin takes. He begins to cough more violently than before,  his shoulders hunched and his chest heaving with each cough. Gavin stops an inch away from the table, so close that if he reached out he could grasp Geoff’s shirt, and he’s tempted to, but Geoff’s so cold and the look in his eyes tells Gavin that he’s long gone, but Gavin has to do something. Geoff’s his friend, he’s helped him so much and he’s so close, he can’t just watch him die. But somethings are out of your control, Geoff knew it, Ryan and the others knew it, and as much as Gavin hated to admit it, he knew it as well. Even so, he wouldn’t just quit. Right here, with Geoff right in front of him...he couldn’t just…

“Geoff,” Gavin’s voice wobbled as he spoke. He stopped, swallowing the burning lump in his throat, before starting again, voice firm and determined. “Geoff, we need to leave. Now. And you’re coming with us.”

“I…” Geoff shakes his head, blue eyes meeting Gavin’s desperate green ones. “I…” he shifts his head down, shaking it again. Gavin could see his grip tightening yet again, him holding the bottle so tight his knuckles begin to turn white.

 _“He CaN’t~”_ sings a happy voice. Everyone but Geoff’s heads snap to the right, staring wide eyed at the monster that had seemingly appeared out of no where.

“Geoff, come on man.” Michael says from behind Gavin, his voice rising an octave out of fear. “We need to leave.”

 _“DiDn’T i JuSt SaY hE cAn’T?”_ huffs the static filled voice in annoyance. In a blink of an eye she glitches behind Geoff and slowly slinks her arms around his neck. She leans forwards and rest her chin on the top of his head lazily. The room felt like ice and Gavin’s couldn’t take his eyes off of Her as she giggles and smiles broadly at him, barring her shark like teeth. With a wink she leans down and whispers something in Geoff’s ear, never once taking her eyes off Gavin. Gavin’s eyes shift down towards Geoff and pales at the sight.  Geoff’s eyes were once again dull and lifeless, and as she spoke to him he nodded his head ever so slightly.

“Geoff,” He half sobs, shaking his head. “Geoff please.” Blue eyes blink sleepily at him, still dead and unrecognizing. “Geoff, come. Don’t listen to her. Please, Geoff, stay with us!” Gavin swears he sees a small spark, but its gone so quickly that he doubts it was there in the first place.

But may its like the doors.

Maybe he’s there, but just hidden.

Maybe he can bring back Geoff too.

“Geoff,” he begins, trying to steady his voice but still managing a small waver. “Geoff just listen to our voices. I know you’re in there, just fight her.” Gavin looks behind himself and shares a look with the others who nod in understanding.

“Come on Geoff, we’re right here dude, ignore her.” Ryan says, stepping up next to Gavin.

“Yeah, come on Geoff. Don’t let that bitch tell you what to do.” Michael chimes in from behind, quickly followed by Ray.

“Come on, who's gonna give me my paycheck if you give in to her?”

“Guys?” Geoff mumbles, focus slowly starting to return to his eyes.

“Yeah Geoff, it’s us. We’re waiting for you, you pleb.” His eyes turn to Gavin, and for the first time Gavin can actually see Geoff, and not the fear, desperation, and blindness that she had forced into his blank stare.

“Gavin...you...I…” Gavin could see as Geoff struggled against her hold and started breaking through the veil.

“Come on Geoff,” Ryan urged. “Just a little more, come back to us.”

“I…” Geoff groans and buries his face into his palms. She glared at the action, red irises full of rage as she looks over at them. She begins his words into Geoff’s ears more vehemently than before, mocking nature long gone as she loses control over him. The aura around her crackled and popped with her rage, and Gavin could feel the temperature of the room drop drastically as small white puffs of air escape from his lips as he breathes out.

“Hurry it up asshole, it’s freezing in here,” chatters Michael and that seemed to be all Geoff needed because as Geoff let out a pained groaned she let out a murderous shrike.

 _“YoU’Ll ReGrEt ThIs!”_ She spits out with a wicked glare before vanishing in a blink of an eye. Everything seemed to go still, the room back to normal temperature and her warning leaving everyone’s ears ringing and heads spinning. The stillness was broken, however, by a low moan from Geoff.

“Why does everything hurt?” he gurgles, voice cracking halfway through.

“B-because you fucking drank acid you idiot.” Michael snaps, though his tone was laced with concern.

“I…” Geoff looked at the virtually empty bottle, to the blood stains on the table, back to them, and when their eyes meet it is clear Geoff’s come to the same conclusion as everyone else.

“I’m dying.”

“No you are not!” Gavin yells, voice firm and thick. His eyes were burning and wet from unshed tears, but damn it all, there were so close, they were so God damn close. But blood was flowing from the side of Geoff’s mouth, and no matter how much he denied it, the fact wasn’t any less true. “You are not dying! God damn it Geoff, we’re so close. Let’s just leave, we’ll find another safe house, or a way home, or anything. But you have to leave with us!” On the plus side, his eyes didn’t burn anymore, downside, his face was soaked and his vision was blurred by his tears.

“Gavin,” Ryan says in the same voice he used to try to calm Geoff earlier. Despite it’s calmness his voice still wavered, and had Gavin looked he was sure Ryan wasn’t any better off than he was. “Gavin, he’s...he won’t be coming with us.”

“Shut up! Just shut up Ryan! Geoff get up now. We have to go. We...we have to get you help.”

“Get help from where?” Geoff asks painfully. “I’m done for dude, gonna be sucking the big dick in the sky here soon.” He tries to joke but it still doesn’t help the pain in Gavin’s heart.

“No! We’ll...we’ll think of something...we’ll save you.” Geoff shakes his head, blue eyes on the brink of tears as he looks at his friends.

“Nah buddy, no help for the drunk this time. No more second chances.”

“But-”

“Ryan, look after these idiots, okay? You’re the last Gent left, God knows what kind of trouble they’ll get into without me.”

“Will do boss.” Ryan croaks.

“Michael,” he pauses then, body racked with pain filled coughs. “You’re...you’re in charge of helping Ryan out, you know how he gets.” Michael lets out a watery laugh.

“Of course Geoff.”

“Ray, try not to hurt yourself again, we’ve already lost two people, don’t need your dumbass getting hurt again.”

“Guess I can take a short parkour break for now.” Ray tries to joke, but it falls flat as a stiff silence fills the air.

“Gavin,” Geoff begins, breaking the suffocating tension in the room.

“”No.” Gavin instantly cuts him off, shaking his head and glaring through his tears. “No, you are not dying. You’re being melodramatic, there’s no need for this “last words” bollocks. You are not-”

“Gavin, shut the fuck up and let me speak.” Gavin swallows hard and straightens his back as his lips form a tight line. “I'm dying okay? I’m not going to survive drinking fucking acid.” As if to prove his point Geoff suffers another coughing fit, spraying even more blood across the counter and down his chin. After the fit is over Geoff goes silent, his heavy breathing filling the room as he glances at his wrist before trying to discreetly hide it under the table.

Gavin notices a distinct lack of red there.

“Geoff,” he pleads, voice cracking.

“Gavin, do you remember what I said to you at Jack’s grave, about what I said before the game started?”

“That if something goes wrong it’s my fault?” Gavin replies, voice filled with guilt and regret. “Yeah, I’m sorry Geoff, it’s all my-”

“No!” Geoff barks, then groans at the staring it put on his torn throat. “No,” he says again, but much softer. “I was wrong to blame you. We all decided to play. We were all idiots. I’m sorry Gav. I’m sorry for blaming you, for making you think that I hate you. I don’t, God I don’t. Please don’t blame yourself. Can you promise me that?” His eyes were pleading and wet and Gavin’s heart broke as he slowly nodded.

“I promise.” he whispers.

“Good...good…” he mutters to himself, light slowly starting to seep from his eyes. “it’s weird, watching the red go down. Fucking trippy as hell.” he looks back up at them and gives them a watery smile. “Looks like I won’t be finishing this game with you, boys. Sucks, kind of wanted to see how this ended.” He laughs, voice weak and raspy as it rattles from his chest.

“Man, Griffon’s going to be pissed. I was suppose to help her with some project after work today. I promised and everything.” Geoff looks at Gavin, eyes once again distant and dulled, but now for an entirely new reason. “Gav, buddy, will you help her? Tell her...tell her I got tied up at work...and that I’m sorry….and that I love her. Will you do that for me?”

“‘Course Geoff.” Gavin reassures, tears streaming faster than before down his face. “Course I will.”

“Good...good…” he looks back down at what Gavin assumes to be his health bar. “I’m sorry I failed you all. I’m an awful boss…”

“No-” Gavin is cut off before he can protest.

“Yes, but that’s okay….that’s okay. I’ll miss you assholes.” He smiles softly.

“We’ll miss you too dick.” Michael and Geoff chuckle.

“You better...you better…”  Before anyone could tease him back, though, his body spasms and his eyes go wide with fear that slowly becomes muddled with nothing and death as he slumps over on the table. there’s a beat of silence.

“Geoff.” Gavin whispers.

Nothing.

“Geoff? This...this isn’t funny. Stop fucking around.”

Nothing but a still body.

“Geoff! Wake up! Stop it!”

Nothing but a dead body and silence and he can’t stand the silence so he rushes forward and shakes Geoff because he’s just sleeping. Because he’s being an ass and is just kidding around because he can’t be dead. There were so close, she had let him go, he was safe. And Gavin shouted and yelled and cried and nothing greeted him but death and silence and not fucking Geoff.

“Gavin…”

Not Geoff and that’s all that mattered and just wake up.

“Gavin.” Just stop being a dick and wake up, please.

“GAVIN!” Michael’s voice and Ryan’s firm hands on his shoulders bring him back and he can’t help but collapse into a pile on the floor because he’s gone.

Geoff’s gone.

* * *

Gavin stares blankly across the room. He was sat in the living room on the hard wood floor, back pressed against the wall and hands clutching the diary.

And Geoff was gone.

His eyes had dried long ago. After Ryan had moved him here. After he heard them in the kitchen, moving their friend’s body to his grave.

And Geoff was gone.

He felt empty and dead and his mind processed nothing but his sore eyes and the aged peeling paint on the wall across from him.

And Geoff was gone.

And that’s the only thought that ran through his head, the only thought that could run through his head. On repeat, like a broken record, like a buzz that wouldn’t leave and God damn it! He get’s it! He knows! He doesn’t need the constant fucking reminder! Okay!?

He’s gone.

And Gavin’s clutching his hair and clenching his eyes shut and a fresh round of tears were streaming down his face and was it him screaming because he wouldn’t hear anything but his own repetitive thoughts, yet his throat felt raw and torn.

And Geoff was gone.

He was gone.

He was fucking gone and Gavin had been there but too late and he was gone and Geoff forgave him but that doesn’t mean he forgives himself.

And Geoff was gone and this isn’t a game, is it?

And Geoff was gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Fucking gone!

And it was all his-

He felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulder and a body pressed against his left side. He felt a hand ruffle his hair, plucking out his vice like grip on it. He felt someone lean against his right side as a hand gently pats his back. He blinks his eyes open to see Ryan to his left, Ray to his right and  Michael crouched in front of him. He opens his mouth to ask what they were doing but instead of words he could only croak out his confusion. Michael just shakes his head and takes a seat next to Ray.

“Let’s just…rest for a while.” Ryan mumbles, exhaustion already overtaking him. “Let’s just...sleep.” Gavin nods his head and leans against ray as his heavy eyelids slide shut.

And he know’s that this is dangerous. He knows she can be around any corner, waiting for their guard to drop. He knows that they should probably have someone keeping watch.

But he doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care, and he could hear the deep slumbered breathing of his friends, and he’s warm and comfortable, and Geoff’s dead.

And he doesn’t care.

And that’s how he falls asleep:

Drained,

Empty,

And warm.

 

 


End file.
